hash stringlengths 32 32 | doc_id stringlengths 7 13 | section stringlengths 3 121 | content stringlengths 0 2.2M |
|---|---|---|---|
d5dcdc7007958ac950012314e8b6e4ab | 105 174-2 | 10.3 Eco-management and sustainability | |
d5dcdc7007958ac950012314e8b6e4ab | 105 174-2 | 10.3.1 Eco-design | Eco-design targets the reduction of environment impacts by savings of raw materials, energy consumption and transportation emissions in line with environmental sustainability objectives. There are three elements of eco-design: • eco-design for manufacturing with the use of minimal raw material quantities; • eco-design for refurbishing and reuse; • eco-design for end of life. ISO 14045 [i.29] describes the recommendations, requirements and provides guidelines for the conduct of the assessment of eco-efficiency systems. |
d5dcdc7007958ac950012314e8b6e4ab | 105 174-2 | 10.3.2 LCA | LCA is discussed in clause 10.2 and is standardized, in general, in ISO 14040 [i.27] and ISO 14044 [i.28] and which provide the basis of the following documents: • ETSI TS 103 199 [i.25]: which establishes generic and specific requirements for LCA of ICT Equipment, Networks and Services and the document is valid for all types of Equipment which is/could be part of a Network. • ETSI ES 203 199 [i.23]: which provides a methodology for evaluating the environmental impact of ICTs objectively and transparently. ETSI ETSI TS 105 174-2 V1.3.1 (2020-01) 64 |
d5dcdc7007958ac950012314e8b6e4ab | 105 174-2 | 10.3.3 Energy management | ISO 50001 [i.33] can be used to certify (in accordance with recognized certification schemes) an organization's policy and achievements in the area of energy management. NOTE: It should be noted that ISO 50001 [i.33] certification focusses on continual improvements in the reduction, and improvements of efficiency of, energy consumption. Certification against the standard does not take account of renewable energy and energy re-use contributions which are the inherently important for the Global KPIs in ETSI EN 305 200-2-1 [i.18], ETSI EN 305 200-3-1 [i.20] and ETSI TS 105 200-3-1 [i.26]. ETSI ETSI TS 105 174-2 V1.3.1 (2020-01) 65 Annex A (informative): ICT site Availability Classes CENELEC EN 50600-1 [i.4] defines four Availability Classes for the critical infrastructures of data centres by separately specifying the requirements for: • Power supply and power distribution by reference to CENELEC EN 50600-2-2 [i.6]. • Environmental control by reference to CENELEC EN 50600-2-3 [i.7]. • Telecommunications cabling infrastructure by reference to CENELEC EN 50600-2-4 [i.8]. These may be applied to the ICT sites of the present document. These requirements are summarized in Table A.1. Table A.1: Availability Classes and example implementations Availability Class 1 Availability Class 2 Availability Class 3 Availability Class 4 Power supply Single path to primary distribution equipment - Single source Single path to primary distribution equipment - Redundant sources Multiple paths to primary distribution equipment - Redundant sources Multiple paths to primary distribution equipment - Multiple sources Power distribution Single path Single path with redundancy Multiple paths - Concurrent repair/operate solution Multiple paths - Fault tolerant except during maintenance Environmental control Single path Single path with redundancy Multiple paths - Concurrent repair/operate solution Multiple paths - Fault tolerant except during maintenance Telecommunications cabling Single path - direct connections or fixed infrastructure with single access network connection Single path - fixed infrastructure with multiple access network connections Multiple paths - fixed infrastructure with diverse pathways with multiple access network connections Multiple paths - fixed infrastructure with diverse pathways and redundant distribution zones and multiple access network connections It has to be emphasized that the availability of one or more of the critical infrastructures listed above does not define the availability of the services provided by the ICT site since this is governed by the recovery time of the ICT equipment and associated software platforms and programmes operated in the ICT site. These Availability Classifications are applicable to individual ICT sites. In some cases ICT sites configured across multiple locations can feature infrastructures of low Availability Class while maintaining the overall service availability objectives provided by the group of ICT sites. CENELEC EN 50600-1 [i.4] does not provide a mapping between the overall service availability of the multi-site group and that of the Availability Class of the infrastructures in any individual ICT site as this requires additional capabilities of the ICT services. ETSI ETSI TS 105 174-2 V1.3.1 (2020-01) 66 Annex B (informative): Historic issues in ICT sites Clause 4.2 states that ICT sites comprise OS and NDC locations within the networks of broadband deployment. Historically, NDCs have often migrated into existing OS which are typically located in buildings situated in urban areas. These buildings and their infrastructure were designed to accommodate NTE which had a power usage density several orders of magnitude lower than the modern ITE that has replaced it. An unsatisfactory situation exists in legacy ICT sites where historical policies have created a situation where the rapid increase in the use of ITE, in the form of servers, has resulted in each application having its own dedicated physical server, sometimes as a result of running older operating systems not allowing virtualization features. This lack of effective management of server capacity results in: • low levels of CPU utilization with low energy efficiency; • servers not being removed from service when they are no longer required. The primary power supply to these locations was often not designed for the high levels of energy usage required by the technology now employed. Additionally, these existing buildings often have limited floor space that is difficult to increase due to commercial, building and planning constraints in urban areas; this, in turn, forces increased concentrations of processing capability. Legislative and environmental factors place severe constraints on the provision of the additional cooling equipment that becomes necessary. The overall result of this is that many ICT sites operate at their limits in terms of energy consumption, environmental control and floor space utilization. Modern building technology is capable of achieving far greater efficiency both in floor space utilization and energy usage; hence it is unlikely that the overall performance of legacy buildings could ever be made to approach that of purpose-built ICT sites. It is, therefore, probably necessary to consider these as separate cases when comparing energy performance. However, as a general principle, all ICT sites are faced with rising energy costs and there continue to be concerns regarding its availability. It is therefore increasingly necessary to employ new strategies and practices in the design and operation of ICT sites to improve energy efficiency by using: • new generation ICT equipment with greater processing efficiency; • better design and operation of environmental control. ETSI ETSI TS 105 174-2 V1.3.1 (2020-01) 67 Annex C (informative): The application of energy management metrics ETSI EN 305 200-1 [i.19] establishes rules for the specification of metrics in the form of Global and Objective KPIs for energy management in networks of broadband deployment. ETSI EN 305 200-2-1 [i.18], ETSI EN 305 200-3-1 [i.20] and ETSI TS 105 200-3-1 [i.26] define Global KPIs for ICT sites based on the following Objective KPIs: • KPIEC: total energy consumption; • KPITE: task efficiency; • KPIREN: renewable energy generation; • KPIREUSE: reuse of waste energy produced by the environmental control system. The CEN/CENELEC/ETSI Coordination Group on Green Data Centres produces free-of-charge documents which are updated annually to describe the general landscape of such standardization. ETSI ETSI TS 105 174-2 V1.3.1 (2020-01) 68 Annex D (informative): Bibliography • ISO/IEC 30134-2: "Information technology - Data centres - Key performance indicators: Part 2: Power usage effectiveness (PUE)". • Best Practice Guidelines for the EU Code of Conduct on Data Centre Energy Efficiency. ETSI ETSI TS 105 174-2 V1.3.1 (2020-01) 69 Annex E (informative): Change History Date Version Information about changes 23/05/2019 V0.0.2 Changes made after initial circulation 25/06/2019 V0.0.3 Changes made after RoC of V0.0.2 but including more fundamental changes to address application of practices to all ICT sites 29/07/2019 V0.0.4 Stable draft ETSI ETSI TS 105 174-2 V1.3.1 (2020-01) 70 History Document history V1.1.1 October 2009 Publication as ETSI TR 105 174-2-1 and ETSI TS 105 174-2-2 V1.2.1 January 2017 Publication V1.1.1 February 2018 Publication as ETSI EN 305 174-2 V1.3.1 January 2020 Publication |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 1 Scope | The present document describes the general aspects and principles of the E2 interface between Near-RT RIC and one or more E2 Nodes, including the interaction with applications hosted in the Near-RT RIC. |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 2 References | |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 2.1 Normative references | References are either specific (identified by date of publication and/or edition number or version number) or non-specific. For specific references, only the cited version applies. For non-specific references, the latest version of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies. Referenced documents which are not found to be publicly available in the expected location might be found at https://docbox.etsi.org/Reference/. NOTE 1: While any hyperlinks included in this clause were valid at the time of publication, ETSI cannot guarantee their long term validity. NOTE 2: In the case of a reference to a 3GPP document (including a GSM document), a non-specific reference implicitly refers to the latest version of that document in 3GPP Release 17. The following referenced documents are necessary for the application of the present document. [1] Void. [2] ETSI TS 104 039: "Publicly Available Specification (PAS); E2 interface: Application Protocol (O-RAN.WG3.E2AP-R003-v04.00)". [3] Void. [4] Void. [5] ETSI TS 136 401: "LTE; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN); Architecture description (3GPP TS 36.401)". [6] ETSI TS 138 401: "5G; NG-RAN; Architecture description (3GPP TS 38.401)". [7] Void. [8] Void. [9] Void. [10] Void. [11] Void. [12] IETF RFC 4960: "Stream Control Transmission Protocol". [13] Void. [14] Void. [15] ETSI TS 103 985: "Publicly Available Specification (PAS); A1 interface: Use Cases and Requirements (O-RAN.WG2.A1UCR-R003-v01.01)". [16] ETSI TS 138 300: "5G; NR; NR and NG-RAN Overall description; Stage-2 (3GPP TS 38.300)". [17] ETSI TS 104 040: "Publicly Available Specification (PAS); E2 interface: Service Model (O-RAN.WG3.E2SM-R003-v04.00)". ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 7 [18] ETSI TS 103 982: "Publicly Available Specification (PAS); O-RAN Architecture Description (O-RAN.WG1.OAD-R003-v08.00)". [19] Void. [20] IETF RFC 4303: "IP Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP)". [21] ETSI TS 133 210: "Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+) (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); LTE; 5G; Network Domain Security (NDS); IP network layer security (3GPP TS 33.210)". [22] ETSI TS 133 310: "Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); LTE; 5G; Network Domain Security (NDS); Authentication Framework (AF) (3GPP TS 33.310)". [23] IETF RFC 6335: "Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Procedures for the Management of the Service Name and Transport Protocol Port Number Registry". [24] Void. |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 2.2 Informative references | References are either specific (identified by date of publication and/or edition number or version number) or non-specific. For specific references, only the cited version applies. For non-specific references, the latest version of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies. NOTE 1: While any hyperlinks included in this clause were valid at the time of publication, ETSI cannot guarantee their long term validity. NOTE 2: In the case of a reference to a 3GPP document (including a GSM document), a non-specific reference implicitly refers to the latest version of that document in 3GPP Release 17. The following referenced documents are not necessary for the application of the present document but they assist the user with regard to a particular subject area. [i.1] ETSI TR 121 905: "Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+) (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); LTE; 5G; Vocabulary for 3GPP Specifications (3GPP TR 21.905)". |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 3 Definition of terms, symbols and abbreviations | |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 3.1 Terms | For the purposes of the present document, the terms given in ETSI TR 121 905 [i.1], ETSI TS 103 982 [18] and the following apply: RAN Function: specific function in an E2 Node; examples include X2AP, F1AP, E1AP, S1AP, NGAP interfaces and RAN internal functions handling UEs, Cells, etc. RIC Service: service provided on an E2 Node to provide access to messages and measurements and / or enable control of the E2 Node from the Near-RT RIC SCTP association: As defined in IETF RFC 4960 [12]. In the present document, SCTP association is interchangeably used by TNL (Transport Network Layer) association. SCTP endpoint (or end-point): As defined in IETF RFC 4960 [12]. |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 3.2 Symbols | Void. ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 8 |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 3.3 Abbreviations | For the purposes of the present document, the abbreviations given in ETSI TR 121 905 [i.1], ETSI TS 103 982 [18] and the following apply: RAT Radio Access Technology TNL Transport Network Layer TNLA TNL Association |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 4 E2 Interface Architecture | |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 4.1 General Architecture Principles | The general principles guiding the definition of the E2 interface between Near-RT RIC and E2 Nodes are the following: - Near-RT RIC and E2 Node functions are fully separated from transport functions. Addressing scheme used in Near-RT RIC and the E2 Nodes shall not be tied to the addressing schemes of transport functions. - The E2 Nodes support all protocol layers and interfaces defined within 3GPP radio access networks that include eNB for E-UTRAN [5] and gNB/ ng-eNB for NG-RAN [16]. - Near-RT RIC and hosted "xApp" applications shall use a set of services exposed by an E2 Node that is described by a series of RAN function and Radio Access Technology (RAT) dependent "E2 Service Models". - E2 interfaces are defined along the following principles: - Interfaces are based on a logical model of the entity controlled through this interface. - One physical network element can implement multiple logical nodes. |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 4.2 O-RAN Architecture Considerations | The Near-RT RIC and E2 Nodes connected by the E2 interface, as presented in Figure 4.2-1, are part of the overall O-RAN Architecture [18]. E2 Node E2 Node O-CU-CP O-CU-UP O-DU O-RU F1-c E2 Node E2 Near-RT RIC E2 E2 E2 Node O-eNB E2 E1 Open Fronthaul F1-u Figure 4.2-1: O-RAN Architecture Overview showing Near-RT RIC interfaces ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 9 With respect to the E2 interface: - E2 is a logical interface connecting the Near-RT RIC with an E2 Node: - The Near-RT RIC is connected to the O-CU-CP. - The Near-RT RIC is connected to the O-CU-UP. - The Near-RT RIC is connected to the O-DU. - The Near-RT RIC is connected to the O-eNB. - An E2 Node is connected to only one Near-RT RIC. - A Near-RT RIC can be connected to multiple E2 Nodes, i.e. multiple O-CU-CPs, O-CU-UPs, O-DUs and O-eNBs. - F1 (F1-C, F1-U) and E1 are logical 3GPP interfaces, whose protocols, termination points and cardinalities are specified in [6]. The Near-RT RIC use E2 interface to collect near real-time information (e.g. UE basis, Cell basis) and provide value added services. The protocols over E2 interface are based exclusively on Control plane protocols and are defined in ETSI TS 104 039 [2]. On E2 or Near-RT RIC failure, the E2 Node is able to provide services but there may be an outage for certain value-added services that may only be provided using the Near-RT RIC. |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5 E2 Interface | |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.1 E2 interface requirements and general principles | |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.1.1 E2 Interface Requirements | The E2 interface shall support the following requirements: - E2 interface shall uniquely identify each E2 Node configured to directly provide RIC Services to the Near-RT RIC. - A given Near-RT RIC may support E2 connections from multiple E2 Nodes, each supporting a specific RAT type. - E2 interface shall expose from the E2 Node a list of functions supporting RIC Services and the corresponding E2 Service Model. - E2 interface shall allow the Near-RT RIC to address specific RAN Functions in a specific E2 Node. - E2 node shall function independently of the Near-RT RIC when and if the E2 interface and/or Near-RT RIC fails. - E2 interface shall support latency requirements for near-real-time optimization, i.e. from 10 milliseconds up to 1 second [18]. - RRM functional allocation between the Near-RT RIC and the E2 Node shall be subject to the capability of the E2 node exposed over the E2 interface by means of the E2 Service Model, in order to support the use cases such as in [15]. - E2 service model shall describe the functions in the E2 Node that may be controlled by the Near RT RIC, thus defining a function-specific RRM split between the E2 node and the Near RT RIC. ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 10 - For a function exposed in the E2 service model, the Near-RT RIC may e.g. monitor, suspend/stop, override or control via policies the behaviour of E2 node. |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.1.2 E2 interface general principles | The general principles for the specification of the E2 interface are as follows: - E2 interface is open. - E2 interface supports the exchange of control signalling information between the endpoints. - E2 is a point-to-point interface between the endpoints on Near-RT RIC and E2 Node. - E2 interface definition supports interface management procedures based on principles from 3GPP RAN interfaces. - E2 interface provides the capability to send predefined information towards the Near-RT RIC based on a pre-configured trigger event. - E2 interface supports the ability to provide UE ID information towards the Near-RT RIC based on a pre-configured trigger event. - E2 interface enables the Near-RT-RIC to direct the E2 Node to suspend an RRM procedure by interrupting the E2 Node local process and forwarding the relevant information to the Near-RT RIC for processing. - E2 interface supports the ability to send control messages (e.g. UE basis, Cell basis) to the E2 Node. - E2 interface supports the ability to provide the E2 Node with a set of policies to use when defined events occur. - E2 interface supports the ability for E2 Node to notify the Near-RT RIC of what functionality it supports. - E2 interface supports the ability to query the E2 Node for relevant RAN- and/or UE-related information. With respect to the E2 interface, the E2 Node consists of: - Logical E2 Agent used to terminate the E2 interface, support global services and to forward/receive RIC service messages towards RAN Functions. - One or more RAN Functions that support RIC services exposed by the E2 Node to the Near-RT RIC. - Other RAN functions that do not support RIC Services. Near-RT RIC E2 Node E2 Agent RAN Func(1) RAN Func(N) Other functions E2 Figure 5.1.2-1: Relationship between Near-RT RIC and E2 Node ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 11 |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.2 E2 interface specification objectives | The E2 interface specifications shall facilitate the following: - Connectivity between Near-RT RIC and E2 Node supplied by different vendors. - Exposure of selected E2 Node data (e.g. configuration information (cell configuration, supported slices, PLMNs, etc.), network measurements, context information, etc.) towards the Near-RT RIC. - Enables the Near-RT RIC to control selected RAN functions on the E2 Node. |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.3 Functions of the E2 Interface | |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.3.1 General | The E2 functions are grouped into the following categories: RIC services: - RIC Services (REPORT, INSERT, CONTROL, POLICY and QUERY), as described in clause 5.3.2) supported by RIC functional procedures (RIC Subscription, RIC Subscription Modification, RIC Subscription Modification Required, RIC Subscription Delete, RIC Subscription Delete Required, RIC Indication, RIC Control, RIC Query). E2 support services: - Interface Management services supported by Global Procedures (E2 Setup, E2 Reset, E2 Node Configuration Update, E2 Removal, Reporting of General Error Situations). - RAN Function services supported by Global Procedures (RIC Service Update, RIC Service Query). |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.3.2 RIC services and related procedures | |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.3.2.1 RIC services | Near-RT RIC may use the following RIC services provided by an E2 node: - REPORT: Near-RT RIC uses a RIC Subscription and/or RIC Subscription Modification procedures to request that E2 Node sends a REPORT message to Near-RT RIC and the associated procedure continues in the E2 Node after each occurrence of a defined RIC Subscription procedure Event Trigger. - INSERT: Near-RT RIC uses a RIC Subscription and/or RIC Subscription Modification procedures to request that E2 Node sends an INSERT message to Near-RT RIC and suspends the associated procedure in the E2 Node after each occurrence of a defined RIC Subscription procedure Event Trigger. - CONTROL: Near-RT RIC sends a CONTROL message to E2 Node to initiate a new associated procedure or resume a previously suspended associated procedure in the E2 Node. - POLICY: Near-RT RIC uses a RIC Subscription and/or RIC Subscription Modification procedures to request that E2 Node executes a specific POLICY during functioning of the E2 Node after each occurrence of a defined RIC Subscription procedure Event Trigger. - QUERY: Near-RT RIC sends a QUERY message to the E2 node to retrieve RAN-related and/or UE-related information from the E2 Node. |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.3.2.2 REPORT service | The REPORT service involves following steps: 1) Near-RT RIC configures, and subsequently may modify, a RIC Subscription in the E2 Node with information for Indication (Report) that is to be sent by the E2 Node with each occurrence of RIC trigger event condition. ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 12 2) During normal functioning of an associated procedure in the E2 Node, a RIC Event Trigger is detected. 3) After completing any previous RIC actions, E2 Node sends RIC INDICATION message to Near-RT RIC containing the requested REPORT information along with the originating Request ID. 4) Associated procedure instance continues in the E2 Node, including any subsequent RIC actions. Figure 5.3.2.2-1: RIC Service REPORT |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.3.2.3 INSERT service | The INSERT service involves following steps: 1) Near-RT RIC configures, and subsequently may modify, a RIC Subscription in the E2 Node with information for an INSERT action, along with an associated Subsequent Action Information (Subsequent Action type, Time to Wait timer), that is to be performed by E2 Node with each occurrence of Event. 2) During normal functioning of an associated procedure instance in the E2 Node, a trigger event is detected. 3) After completing any previous RIC actions, E2 Node suspends associated procedure instance for up to a defined Time to Wait period. 4) E2 Node sends RIC INDICATION message to Near-RT RIC containing the requested INSERT information along with the originating Request ID and information to identify the suspended associated procedure instance. 5) According to the Time to Wait timer state, arrival of RIC CONTROL procedure, and Subsequent Action parameter in the RIC Subscription, the E2 Node may then: a) RIC CONTROL REQUEST message arrives in time: This case is described in clause 5.3.2.4. b) The associated Time to Wait timer expires and Subsequent Action Type set to Continue: Continue the original associated procedure instance, including any subsequent RIC actions, if and when the associated Time to Wait timer expires. If the Near-RT RIC subsequently sends a RIC CONTROL REQUEST message with the Call Process ID for the same associated procedure, then the E2 Node shall respond with the RIC CONTROL FAILURE message with a cause to indicate that the timer has expired. See also clause 5.3.2.4. ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 13 c) The associated Time to Wait timer expires and Subsequent Action Type set to Halt: Halt the original associated procedure instance, including any subsequent RIC actions, if and when the associated Time to Wait timer expires. If the Near-RT RIC subsequently sends a RIC CONTROL REQUEST message with the Call Process ID for the same associated procedure, then the E2 Node shall respond with the RIC CONTROL FAILURE message with a cause to indicate that the timer has expired. See also clause 5.3.2.4. Figure 5.3.2.3-1: RIC Service INSERT with subsequent RIC Service CONTROL responses ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 14 |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.3.2.4 CONTROL service | The CONTROL service involves following steps: Near-RT RIC detects an event trigger. This step may be triggered by either: a) a previous RIC INDICATION message sent by E2 Node; b) internal to Near-RT RIC. 1) Near-RT RIC performs an action. 2) Near-RT RIC sends a RIC CONTROL REQUEST message to E2 Node. This message may contain information to identify the previously suspended procedure instance, and may request acknowledgement from the E2 Node. The Near-RT RIC shall set the timer TRICcontrol if either acknowledgement has been requested or the optional acknowledgement request was not present in the RIC CONTROL REQUEST message. 3) The request is validated. The E2 Node cancels the associated Time to Wait timer if previously set, and initiates or resumes the associated procedure. 4) E2 Node then: i) If the requested control service is successfully executed, and if acknowledgement was requested or if the optional RIC Control Ack Request was not present, the E2 Node sends the RIC CONTROL ACKNOWLEDGE message with the optional RIC Control Outcome providing information about the result of the request Control service. ii) If the requested control service fails to execute or the request is not validated, the E2 Node sends the RIC CONTROL FAILURE message with a cause indicating the reason for failure or rejection and the optional RIC Control outcome providing information about the reason for failure to execute. 5) If previously set, the Near-RT RIC shall cancel the TRICcontrol timer. ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 15 Figure 5.3.2.4-1: RIC Service CONTROL as response to RIC Service INSERT ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 16 Figure 5.3.2.4-2: RIC Service CONTROL initiated by NEAR-RT RIC |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.3.2.5 POLICY service | The POLICY service involves following steps: 1) Near-RT RIC configures, and subsequently may modify, a RIC Subscription in the E2 Node with information used to configure a POLICY that is to be performed by E2 Node with each occurrence of trigger event. 2) During normal functioning of the E2 Node, a trigger event is detected. 3) After completing any previous RIC actions, E2 Node modifies ongoing call process according to information contained in the POLICY description statement. 4) Associated procedure instance continues in the E2 Node, including any subsequent RIC actions. Note that if previously configured with a dedicated RIC Subscription, the E2 Node may send a REPORT used to provide information on the associated procedure outcome. See clause 5.3.2.2 for details. ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 17 Figure 5.3.2.5-1: RIC Service POLICY |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.3.2.5A QUERY service | The QUERY service involves following steps: 1) Near-RT RIC determines need for RAN and/or UE-related information from the E2 node. 2) Near-RT RIC sends a RIC QUERY REQUEST message to E2 Node. This message contains the requested information that needs to be fetched from the E2 Node. The Near-RT RIC shall set the timer TRICquery awaiting response from the E2 node. 3) E2 node performs validation and attempts to retrieve the requested information for the Near-RT RIC. 4) E2 Node then: i) If the E2 node successfully validates and retrieves the requested information for the Near-RT RIC, then the E2 node sends the RIC QUERY RESPONSE message containing the desired information. ii) If the E2 node fails to validate the request or fails to retrieve the requested information for the Near-RT RIC, then the E2 node sends the RIC QUERY FAILURE message along with the cause for failure. ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 18 Figure 5.3.2.5A-1: RIC Service QUERY |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.3.2.6 RIC service realization and relationship with E2AP procedures | The RIC Services may be realized using the following RIC Functional procedures: RIC Subscription procedure (Near-RT RIC initiated): - Used to install Event Trigger and associated sequence of Actions corresponding to one or more RIC services REPORT, INSERT and/or POLICY. RIC Subscription Modification procedure (Near-RT RIC initiated): - Used to modify Event Trigger and/or add, modify and/or remove associated sequence of Actions corresponding to one or more RIC services REPORT, INSERT and/or POLICY. RIC Subscription Modification Required procedure (E2 Node initiated): - Used to request modification and/or removal of associated sequence of Actions corresponding to one or more RIC services REPORT, INSERT and/or POLICY. RIC Subscription Delete procedure (Near-RT RIC initiated): - Used to delete previously installed RIC Subscription. ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 19 RIC Subscription Delete Required procedure (E2 Node initiated): - Used to indicate that one or more previously installed RIC Subscriptions are required to be deleted. RIC Indication procedure (E2 Node initiated): - Used to carry outcome of RIC services REPORT and INSERT. RIC Control procedure (Near-RT RIC initiated): - Used to initiate RIC service CONTROL. RIC Query procedure (Near-RT RIC initiated): - Used to request RAN and/or UE related information from E2 Node. Table 5.3.2.6-1: Relationship between RIC Services and E2AP Procedures E2AP Procedure RIC Service REPORT INSERT CONTROL POLICY QUERY RIC Subscription Installs one or more REPORT Services associated with a RIC Subscription Installs one or more INSERT Services associated with a RIC Subscription Installs one or more POLICY Services associated with a RIC Subscription RIC Subscription Modification Adds, Modifies and/or Removes one or more REPORT Services associated with a RIC Subscription Adds, Modifies and/or Removes one or more INSERT Services associated with a RIC Subscription Adds, Modifies and/or Removes one or more POLICY Services associated with a RIC Subscription RIC Subscription Modification Required Requests Modification and/or Removal of one or more REPORT Services associated with a RIC Subscription Requests Modification and/or Removal of one or more INSERT Services associated with a RIC Subscription Requests Modification and/or Removal of one or more POLICY Services associated with a RIC Subscription RIC Subscription Delete Deletes all REPORT Services associated with one or more RIC Subscriptions Deletes all INSERT Services associated with one or more RIC Subscriptions Deletes all POLICY Service associated with one or more RIC Subscriptions RIC Subscription Delete Required Requests Near-RT RIC to delete all REPORT Services associated with one or more RIC Subscriptions Requests Near- RT RIC to delete all INSERT Services associated with one or more RIC Subscriptions Requests Near-RT RIC to delete all POLICY Services associated with one or more RIC Subscriptions RIC Indication Carries outcome of REPORT Service Carries outcome of INSERT Service RIC Control Initiates CONTROL Service RIC Query Initiates QUERY service The RIC Subscription, RIC Subscription Modification, RIC Subscription Modification Required, RIC Subscription Delete, and RIC Subscription Delete Required procedures are used to establish, modify or delete RIC subscriptions on the E2 Node. ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 20 The RIC Subscription, RIC Subscription Modification and RIC Subscription Delete procedures are initiated by the Near-RT RIC (Figure 5.3.2.6-1). In addition, the E2 Node may initiate a RIC Subscription Delete Required procedure to request removal of one or more existing RIC Subscriptions (Figure 5.3.2.6-2) and a RIC Subscription Modification Required procedure to request the modification or removal of one or more existing RIC services within an existing RIC Subscription (Figure 5.3.2.6-3). Figure 5.3.2.6-1: RIC Subscription, RIC Subscription Modification and RIC Subscription Delete procedures ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 21 Figure 5.3.2.6-2: RIC Subscription Delete Required and RIC Subscription Delete procedures Figure 5.3.2.6-3: RIC Subscription Modification Required procedure |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.3.3 Combining RIC services within a common RIC Subscription | RIC services defined in clause 5.3.2 may be combined within a common Subscription with each RIC Service implemented as part of a sequence of Actions. ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 22 Where appropriate in these cases, successive REPORT or INSERT messages sent to Near-RT RIC under the same subscription event trigger would contain the same assigned Subscription Request identifier, the same optional sequence number and each message with the unique assigned Action identifier. Examples include: - POLICY then REPORT. In this case, at each occurrence of the defined Event Trigger, the E2 Node would be instructed to first execute a defined POLICY and then send a defined REPORT message. - REPORT then REPORT. In this case, at each occurrence of the defined Event Trigger, the E2 Node would be instructed to first send a defined REPORT message to be followed by a second defined REPORT message containing normally different information. When more than one RIC service action has been accepted by the E2 Node then actions shall be executed as specified in ETSI TS 104 039 [2]. |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.3.4 Combining RIC services as a sequence of RIC services | RIC services defined in clause 5.3.2 may be combined using a sequence of different RIC services implemented using a procedure executed within the Near-RT RIC. Examples include: - REPORT followed by POLICY. In this case, at each occurrence of the defined Event Trigger, the E2 Node would be instructed to send a defined REPORT message. The Near-RT RIC would use the information from one or more successive REPORT messages as input to a procedure that may result in a change or establishment of a RIC POLICY service. - INSERT followed by CONTROL. In this case, at each occurrence of the defined Event Trigger, the E2 Node would be instructed to send a defined INSERT message containing information used to identify the suspended associated procedure instance and then the Near-RT RIC would send a corresponding CONTROL message containing information used to identify a previous suspended associated procedure instance. - REPORT followed by CONTROL. In this case, at each occurrence of the defined Event Trigger, the E2 Node would be instructed to send a defined REPORT message. The Near-RT RIC would use the information from one or more successive REPORT messages as input to a procedure that may result in a RIC CONTROL service message being sent to initiate an associated procedure instance in the E2 Node. |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.4 RAN Function E2 Service Model | As described in clause 5.1 the E2 interface is used to carry messages between a given E2 Node and Near-RT RIC. These messages may contain RAN Function specific content which is described in the corresponding RAN Function specific E2 Service Model. Each RAN Function is described in the following terms: - RAN Function Definition. Defines the RAN Function Name and describes the RIC Services that the specific RAN Function is currently configured to present over the E2 interface. - RIC Event Trigger Definition approach. Describes the approach to be used in RIC Subscription and RIC Subscription Modification procedures to set or modify the RIC Event Trigger Definition in the RAN Function for RIC Services REPORT, INSERT and/or POLICY. - RIC Action Definition approach. Describes the approach to be used in RIC Subscription and RIC Subscription Modification procedures to set or modify the required sequence of RIC Action in the RAN Function for RIC Services REPORT, INSERT and/or POLICY. - RIC Indication Header and RIC Indication Message approach. Describes the approach to be used in RIC Indication procedure for RIC Services REPORT and INSERT. - RIC Control Header and RIC Control Message approach. Describes the approach to be used in RIC Control procedure for RIC Service CONTROL. ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 23 - RIC Call Process ID approach. Describes the approach to be used by the E2 node in RIC Indication procedure for RIC Service INSERT. The same IE is used in the subsequent RIC Control procedure for RIC Service CONTROL. - RIC Control Outcome approach. Describes the approach to be used by the E2 node in RIC Control procedure for RIC service CONTROL. - RAN Function Policies. Describes the set of policies that the RAN Function is configured to support and the corresponding Parameters that may be used to configure the policy using RIC Service POLICY. - RIC Query Header and RIC Query Definition approach. Describes the approach to be used by the Near-RT RIC in RIC Query procedure for RIC Service QUERY. - RIC Query Outcome approach. Describes the approach to be used by the E2 node in RIC Query procedure for RIC Service QUERY. |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.5 E2 support services | |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.5.1 General | The E2 support services are supported by the following global procedures: - E2 Setup. - E2 Reset. - RIC Service Update. - E2 Node Configuration Update. - E2 Removal. - Reporting of General Error Situations. The E2 Setup, E2 Reset, RIC Service Update, E2 Node Configuration Update and E2 Removal procedures are described in further details in the following clauses. |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.5.2 E2 Setup procedure | The E2 Setup procedure is used to establish the E2 interface between the Near-RT RIC and an E2 Node. During this procedure the E2 Node provides: - List of supported RIC services and mapping of services to functions within the E2 Node. This information is specific to each RAN Function in the E2 node and is defined by a specific E2 Service Model as described in clause 5.4. - List of E2 Node configuration information. This information is specific to the E2 Node type (see clause 4.2) and defined by the E2 Node system specifications. If the E2 Setup procedure fails, the Near-RT RIC may provide an alternative Transport Layer Information for the E2 Node to use when reinitiating the E2 Setup procedure. ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 24 Figure 5.5.2-1: E2 Setup procedure |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.5.3 E2 Reset procedure | The E2 Reset procedure is used by either the E2 Node or Near-RT RIC to reset the E2 interface. Information previous exchanged during E2 Setup, E2 Node Configuration Update and RIC Service Update procedures shall be maintained however the outcome of all previous RIC Subscription shall be deleted from the E2 Node and E2 Node gracefully terminates any ongoing RIC Services. The Near-RT RIC may then proceed to re-establish any RIC Subscriptions as required. ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 25 Figure 5.5.3-1: E2 Reset procedure (E2 Node initiated) ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 26 Figure 5.5.3-2: E2 Reset procedure (Near-RT RIC initiated) |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.5.4 RIC Service Update procedure | The RIC Service Update procedure is used by the E2 Node to inform the Near-RT RIC of any change to the list of supported RIC services and mapping of services to functions within the E2 Node. This information is specific to each RAN Function in the E2 node and is defined by a specific E2 Service Model as described in clause 5.4. This procedure may also be initiated by the Near-RT RIC sending a RIC SERVICE QUERY message. ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 27 Figure 5.5.4-1: RIC Service update procedure |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.5.5 E2 Node Configuration Update procedure | The E2 Node Configuration Update procedure is used by the E2 Node to inform the Near-RT RIC of any change to the configuration of the E2 Node and/or E2 Node initiated changes to TNL Associations associated with the E2 interface. This information is specific to the E2 Node type and defined by the E2 Node system specifications as described in clause 4.2. See clause 6.2 for further details on E2 Node Configuration Update procedure usage for E2 Node initiated changes to TNL Associations associated with the E2 interface. Figure 5.5.5-1: E2 Node configuration update procedure ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 28 |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 5.5.6 E2 Removal procedure | The E2 Removal procedure is used by either the E2 Node or Near-RT RIC to release the E2 signalling connection. If the procedure is E2 node initiated, after the E2 REMOVAL RESPONSE is received, the E2 node initiates termination of all TNL associations associated with this E2 interface. The Near-RT RIC and E2 nodes releases all resources associated with this E2 interface. If the E2 Removal procedure fails, the E2 node may retry the E2 Removal procedure. If the procedure is Near-RT RIC initiated, after the E2 REMOVAL RESPONSE is received, the Near-RT RIC initiates termination of all TNL associations associated with this E2 interface. The Near-RT RIC and E2 nodes releases all resources associated with this E2 interface. If the E2 Removal procedure fails, the Near-RT RIC may retry the E2 Removal procedure. Figure 5.5.6-1: E2 Removal procedure (E2 Node initiated) ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 29 Figure 5.5.6-2: E2 Removal procedure (Near-RT RIC initiated) |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 6 E2 interface signalling | |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 6.1 E2 Control Plane Protocol (E2AP) | The control plane protocol stack of the E2AP interface is shown on Figure 6.1-1. The transport network layer is built on IP transport. For the reliable transport of signalling messages, IETF RFC 4960 [12] is added on top of IP. When configurations with multiple SCTP associations are supported, the Near-RT RIC may request to dynamically add/remove SCTP associations between the E2 Node/Near-RT RIC pair. Within the set of SCTP associations established between one Near-RT RIC and E2 node pair, the Near-RT RIC may request the E2 Node to restrict the usage of SCTP association for certain types of E2 signalling. If no restriction information is provided for an SCTP association, any type of E2 signalling is allowed via the SCTP association. The application layer signalling protocol is referred to as E2AP (E2 Application Protocol). The Payload Protocol Identifier assigned by IANA to be used by SCTP for the application layer protocol E2AP is 70. This value is to be used for all deployment configurations described in the present document. Payload Protocol Identifiers 71 and 72, also assigned by IANA for E2, are reserved for future use. No SCTP Destination Port number value was assigned by IANA for the E2AP protocol and so networks shall rely on E2 node and Near-RT RIC configuration to select a suitable port number. ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 30 NOTE: E2AP messages are transported over the E2 interfaces. Figure 6.1-1: E2AP protocol stack |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 6.2 Multiple TNLAs over E2 | The Near-RT RIC and E2 Node supports multiple TNL associations over E2 interface. An initial TNL association is established during E2 Setup procedure with E2 Node initiating SCTP connection. At this point the single TNL association is configured to be used for both RIC Services (clause 5.3) and E2 Support functions (clause 5.5). TNL associations may then be added, modified or removed during subsequent E2 Connection Update and E2 Node Configuration Update procedures with E2 Node initiating SCTP connections where required. When the Near-RT RIC requests to dynamically add additional SCTP associations between the Near-RT RIC/E2 Node pair, the Near-RT RIC sends additional SCTP endpoints using the E2 Connection Update procedure. The E2 Node shall establish the SCTP associations. The SCTP Destination Port number value may be the same port number used for the initial E2 Setup procedure, or any dynamic port value (IETF RFC 6335 [23]). Within the set of SCTP associations established between one Near-RT RIC and E2 node pair, a single SCTP association shall be employed for E2AP elementary procedures utilized for E2 Support Function signalling (i.e. defined in ETSI TS 104 039 [2] clause 8.3) with the possibility of fail-over to a new association to enable robustness. When the configuration with multiple SCTP endpoints per E2 node is supported and E2 node wants to add an additional SCTP association, the E2 Node Configuration Update procedure shall be the first E2AP procedure triggered on an additional TNLA of an already setup E2 interface after the TNL association has become operational. The E2 Node uses a SCTP endpoint of the Near-RT RIC already in use for existing TNL associations between the Near-RT RIC/E2 Node pair when establishing the additional SCTP association, and the Near-RT RIC shall associate the TNLA to the E2 interface using the included Global E2 Node ID. The E2 Node uses the E2 Node Configuration Update procedure when it wants to remove additional SCTP association. The RIC Subscription TNLA binding is a binding between a specific TNL association and RIC Service signalling (i.e. defined in ETSI TS 104 039 [2] clause 8.2) of a specific RIC Subscription. After the RIC Subscription TNLA binding is created, the Near-RT RIC can update the RIC Subscription TNLA binding by sending the E2AP message for the RIC Subscription to the E2 Node via a different TNLA. The E2 Node shall update the RIC Subscription TNLA binding with the new TNLA. The E2 Configuration Update procedure also allows the E2 Node to inform the Near-RT RIC that the indicated TNLA(s) will be removed by the E2 Node. Between one Near-RT RIC and E2 Node pair: - A single pair of stream identifiers shall be reserved over an SCTP association for the sole use of E2AP elementary procedures utilized for E2 Support Function signalling (i.e. defined in ETSI TS 104 039 [2] clause 8.3). ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 31 - At least one pair of stream identifiers over one or several SCTP associations shall be reserved for the sole use of E2AP elementary procedures utilized for RIC Service signalling (i.e. defined in ETSI TS 104 039 [2] clause 8.2). However, a few pairs (i.e. more than one) should be reserved. - For any RIC service signalling (i.e. defined in ETSI TS 104 039 [2] clause 8.2) of a single RIC Subscription, the E2 Node shall use one SCTP association and one SCTP stream, and the SCTP association/stream should not be changed until after the current SCTP association is failed, or the RIC Subscription TNLA binding update is performed. Transport network redundancy may be achieved by SCTP multi-homing between two end-points, of which one or both is assigned with multiple IP addresses. SCTP end-points shall support a multi-homed remote SCTP end-point. For SCTP endpoint redundancy an INIT may be sent from a Near-RT RIC or E2 Node, at any time for an already established SCTP association, which shall be handled as defined in IETF RFC 4960 [12] in clause 5.2. The SCTP congestion control may, using an implementation specific mechanism, initiate higher layer protocols to reduce the signalling traffic at the source and prioritize certain messages. Figure 6.2-1: TNL management examples (E2 Setup and Near-RT RIC initiated TNL Addition) ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 32 Figure 6.2-2: TNL management examples (Near-RT RIC initiated TNL Modification and TNL Removal) ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 33 Figure 6.2-3: TNL management examples (E2 Node initiated TNL Addition and TNL Removal) |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 7 Security for the E2 interface | |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 7.1 General | The security requirements given in this clause only apply to the E2 interface. |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 7.2 Requirements for the E2 interfaces | The requirements given below apply to E2 interface defined in the present document: - E2 interface shall support confidentiality, integrity, replay protection and data origin authentication. ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 34 |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 7.3 Security mechanism for the E2 interface | In order to protect the traffic on the E2 interface, IPsec ESP implementation shall be supported according to IETF RFC 4303 [20] as profiled by ETSI TS 133 210 [21]. For IPsec implementation, tunnel mode is mandatory to support while transport mode is optional. The multiple IKE Security Associations (SAs), multiple IPsec SAs and multiple IPsec SAs per IPsec tunnel (e.g. for rekeying) shall be supported. IKEv2 certificate-based authentication implementation shall be supported according to ETSI TS 133 310 [22]. The certificates shall be supported according to the profile described by ETSI TS 133 310 [22]. IKEv2 shall be supported conforming to the IKEv2 profile described in ETSI TS 133 310 [22]. |
726509adae72df2686cf4ad7fa82ea05 | 104 038 | 8 Other E2 interface specifications | 8.1 O-RAN E2 interface: E2 Application Protocol (E2AP) (ORAN-WG3.E2AP) ETSI TS 104 039 [2] specifies the signalling protocol between the Near-RT RIC and the E2 Node over the E2 interface. 8.2 O-RAN E2 interface: E2 Service Model (E2SM) specifications ETSI TS 104 040 [17] provides the list of the supported RAN Function-specific E2 Service Models supported over the E2 interface and presents a recommended layout for additional E2SM specifications. ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 35 Annex A (normative): Deployment considerations A.1 Deployment use cases The Near-RT RIC may be connected to range of different E2 Node configurations as described in the list implementation options in clause A.4 of [18]. Examples include: - Standalone O-CU-CP connected to one or more standalone O-CU-UP and one or more standalone O-DU. Each logical node is considered as an E2 Node that presents an E2 interface to the Near-RT RIC. - Combined O-CU-CP and O-CU-UP connected to one or more standalone O-DU. The combined O-CU-CP/O-CU-UP may present either a common E2 interface or individual E2 interfaces corresponding to the individual O-RAN components. - Combined O-CU-CP, O-CU-UP and O-DU. The combined node may present either a common E2 interface or individual E2 interfaces corresponding to the individual O-RAN components. In all cases the different RAN components may initiate either independent E2 connections to the Near-RT RIC for each logical O-RAN component or may present a shared E2 interface and hence present the combined RAN components as a common E2 Node supporting services appropriate to more than one logical O-RAN component. In all cases each E2 Node shall present a single E2 interface to the Near-RT RIC and shall announce which E2 Services supports for each logical O-RAN component. Example deployment use case are presented in Figures A.1-1 and A.1-2. E2 Node O-CU-CP O-CU-UP O-DU O-RU F1-c E2 Node E2 Near-RT RIC E2 E1 Open Fronthaul F1-u Figure A.1-1: Example deployment use case with single E2 Node supporting both O-CU-CP and O-CU-UP roles ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 36 E2 Node O-CU-CP O-CU-UP O-DU O-RU F1-c E2 Near-RT RIC E1 Open Fronthaul F1-u Figure A.1-2: Example deployment use case with single E2 Node supporting O-CU-CP, O-CU-UP and O-DU roles ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 37 Annex B (informative): Change history Date Version Information about changes February 2020 01.00 Initial version October 2020 01.01 Editorial and functional corrections October 2021 02.00 New features: RIC Subscription Delete, TNLA Removal. Improvement to security text March 2022 02.01 New features: E2 Removal. Clarification on handling of multiple TNLAs July 2022 02.02 Clarification on REPORT and INSERT service handling. Editorial and functional corrections March 2023 03.00 New features: RIC Subscription Modification, RIC Query. Clarification on Combining RIC Services, Timer handling, RIC Action execution order, use of term RIC Service June 2023 03.01 Alignment of O-RAN Drafting Rules (ODR) in preparation for ETSI PAS submission October 2023 04.01 Editorial and functional corrections ETSI ETSI TS 104 038 V4.1.0 (2024-10) 38 History Document history V4.1.0 October 2024 Publication |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 1 Scope | The present document specifies the top-level use cases as defined by O-RAN WG1 UCTG (Use Case Task Group). For each use case, the document describes the motivation, resources, steps involved, and the data requirements. These top-level use cases are further detailed in relevant WGs along with the requirements for O-RAN components and their interfaces. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 2 References | |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 2.1 Normative references | References are either specific (identified by date of publication and/or edition number or version number) or non-specific. For specific references, only the cited version applies. For non-specific references, the latest version of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies. Referenced documents which are not found to be publicly available in the expected location might be found in the ETSI docbox. NOTE: While any hyperlinks included in this clause were valid at the time of publication, ETSI cannot guarantee their long term validity. The following referenced documents are necessary for the application of the present document. [1] 3GPP TS 22.261: "Service requirements for the 5G system"; Stage 1, Release 16, March 2020. [2] 3GPP TS 23.501: "System Architecture for the 5G System (5GS)"; Stage 2, Release 16, March 2020. [3] 3GPP TS 28.310: "Energy efficiency of 5G", V17.3.0, Release 17, December 2022. [4] 3GPP TS 28.530: "Management and orchestration; Concepts, use cases and requirements", Release 16, January 2020. [5] 3GPP TS 28.541: "Management and orchestration; 5G Network Resource Model (NRM)"; Stage 2 and stage 3, Release 16, January 2020. [6] 3GPP TS 28.552: "3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; Management and orchestration; 5G performance measurements", Release 16, March 2020. [7] 3GPP TS 28.554: "3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; Management and orchestration; 5G end to end Key Performance Indicators (KPI)", Release 16, March 2020. [8] 3GPP TS 28.622: "Telecommunication management; Generic Network Resource Model (NRM) Integration Reference Point (IRP); Information Service (IS)", Release 16, June 2021. [9] 3GPP TS 28.624: "Telecommunication management; State management data definition Integration Reference Point (IRP); Requirements", Release 16, July 2020. [10] 3GPP TS 28.625: "Telecommunication management; State management data definition Integration Reference Point (IRP); Information Service (IS)", Release 16, July 2020. [11] 3GPP TS 28.626: "Telecommunication management; State management data definition Integration Reference Point (IRP); Solution Set (SS) definitions", Release 16, July 2020. [12] 3GPP TS 37.340: "E-UTRA and NR; Multi-connectivity", Release 16, April 2020. [13] 3GPP TS 38.211: "Physical channels and modulation", Release 15, March 2019. [14] 3GPP TS 38.213: "Physical layer procedures for control", Release 15, March 2019. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 10 [15] ETSI EN 302 637-2: "Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS); Vehicular Communications; Basic Set of Applications; Part 2: Specification of Cooperative Awareness Basic Service", Release 1, November 2010. [16] ETSI EN 302 637-3: "Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS); Vehicular Communications; Basic Set of Applications; Part 3: Specifications of Decentralized Environmental Notification Basic Service", Release 1, November 2014. [17] GSMA NG.116: "Generic Network Slice Template", Version 2.0, October 2019. [18] ITU-T X.731: "Information technology - Open Systems Interconnection - Systems management: State management function". [19] IETF RFC 8348: "A YANG Data Model for Hardware Management". [20] 3GPP TS 28.313: "Management and orchestration; Self-Organizing Networks (SON) for 5G networks". [21] O-RAN.WG6.ORCH-USE-CASES: "Cloudification and Orchestration Use Cases and Requirements for O-RAN Virtualized RAN". [22] O-RAN.WG10.OAM-Architecture: "O-RAN Working Group 10, O-RAN Operations and Maintenance Architecture". [23] O-RAN.WG4.MP: "O-RAN Working Group 4 (Open Fronthaul Interfaces WG), Management Plane Specification". [24] O-RAN.WG4.CUS.0-v02.00: "O-RAN Fronthaul Working Group, Control, User and Synchronization Plane Specification". [25] 3GPP TS 36.423: "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN); X2 application protocol (X2AP)". [26] 3GPP TS 36.314: "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Layer 2 - Measurements". [27] 3GPP TS 38.314: "NR; Layer 2 Measurements". [28] 3GPP TS 32.425: "Telecommunication management; Performance Management (PM); Performance measurements; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)". [29] 3GPP TS 36.300: "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN); Overall description; Stage 2". [30] 3GPP TS 23.401: "General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) enhancements for Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) access". [31] 3GPP TS 23.203: "Policy and charging control architecture". [32] 3GPP TS 36.214: "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Physical layer; Measurements". [33] 3GPP TS 36.331: "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Radio Resource Control (RRC); Protocol specification". |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 2.2 Informative references | References are either specific (identified by date of publication and/or edition number or version number) or non-specific. For specific references, only the cited version applies. For non-specific references, the latest version of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies. NOTE: While any hyperlinks included in this clause were valid at the time of publication, ETSI cannot guarantee their long term validity. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 11 The following referenced documents are not necessary for the application of the present document but they assist the user with regard to a particular subject area. [i.1] 3GPP TR 21.905: "Vocabulary for 3GPP Specifications". [i.2] 3GPP TR 37.817: "Study on enhancement for Data Collection for NR and EN-DC", Release 17, V2.0.0, March 2022. [i.3] 3GPP TR 38.889: "Study on NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum", Release 16, December 2018. [i.4] 3GPP TR 38.913: "Study on scenarios and requirements for next generation access technologies", Release 16, July 2020. [i.5] ETSI ES 203 228 (V1.3.1): "Environmental Engineering (EE); Assessment of mobile network energy efficiency". |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 3 Definition of terms, symbols and abbreviations | |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 3.1 Terms | For the purposes of the present document, the terms and definitions given in [i.1] and the following apply: NOTE: A term defined in the present document takes precedence over the definition of the same term, if any, in [i.1]. A1: interface between Non-RT RIC and Near-RT RIC to enable policy-driven guidance of Near-RT RIC applications/functions, and support AI/ML workflow A1 Enrichment information: information utilized by Near-RT RIC that is collected or derived at SMO/Non-RT RIC either from non-network data sources or from network functions themselves A1 policy: type of declarative policies expressed using formal statements that enable the Non-RT RIC function in the SMO to guide the Near-RT RIC function, and hence the RAN, towards better fulfilment of the RAN intent E2: interface connecting the Near-RT RIC and one or more O-CU-CPs, one or more O-CU-UPs, and one or more O- DUs E2 Node: logical node terminating E2 interface. NOTE: In this version of the specification, O-RAN nodes terminating E2 interface are: - for NR access: O-CU-CP, O-CU-UP, O-DU or any combination; - for E-UTRA access: O-eNB. intents: declarative policy to steer or guide the behavior of RAN functions, allowing the RAN function to calculate the optimal result to achieve stated objective Near-RT RIC: O-RAN Near-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller: logical function that enables near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via fine-grained data collection and actions over E2 interface Non-RT RIC: O-RAN Non-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller: logical function that enables non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, AI/ML workflow including model training and updates, and policy-based guidance of applications/features in Near-RT RIC O-CU: O-RAN Central Unit: logical node hosting O-CU-CP and O-CU-UP O-CU-CP: O-RAN Central Unit - Control Plane: logical node hosting the RRC and the control plane part of the PDCP protocol O-CU-UP: O-RAN Central Unit - User Plane: logical node hosting the user plane part of the PDCP protocol and the SDAP protocol ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 12 O-DU: O-RAN Distributed Unit: logical node hosting RLC/MAC/High-PHY layers based on a lower layer functional split O-RU: O-RAN Radio Unit: logical node hosting Low-PHY layer and RF processing based on a lower layer functional split. This is similar to 3GPP's "TRP" or "RRH" but more specific in including the Low-PHY layer (FFT/iFFT, PRACH extraction) O1: interface between management entities (SMO/EMS/MANO) and O-RAN managed elements, for operation and management, by which FCAPS management, Software management, File management can be achieved O2: interface between management entities and the O-Cloud for supporting O-RAN virtual network functions RAN: generally referred as Radio Access Network. In terms of this document, any component below Near-RT RIC per O-RAN architecture, including O-CU/O-DU/O-RU shared O-RU: O-RU that is able to be configured to operate with one or more O-DUs operated by one or more mobile network operators |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 3.2 Symbols | Void. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 3.3 Abbreviations | For the purposes of the present document, the abbreviations given in [i.1] and the following apply: NOTE: An abbreviation defined in the present document takes precedence over the definition of the same abbreviation, if any, in [i.1]. AI/ML Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning ALD Antenna Line Device AMF API Management Function ANR Automatic Neighbor Relations API Application Program Interface ASM Advanced Sleep Modes BBU Base Band Unit bMRO Beam-based Mobility Robustness Optimization BW Bandwidth BWP Bandwidth Part CAM Cooperative Awareness Message CCO Coverage and Capacity Optimization CN Core Network CQI Channel Quality Indicator CSI Channel State Informatio C-SON Centralized SON DAS Distributed Antenna System DDoS Distributed Denial of Service DENM Decentralized Environmental Notification Message DRB Data Radio Bearer D-SON Distributed SON DSS Dynamic Spectrum Sharing EM Electromagnetic eMBB enhanced Mobile BroadBand eNB eNodeB (applies to LTE) FCAPS Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, Security FDD Frequency Division Duplexing FM Fault Management gNB gNodeB (applies to NR) GoB Grid of Beams GSMA Global System for Mobile Communications Association IOC Information Object Class ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 13 IoT Internet of Things KPI Key Performance Indicator LCM Life Cycle Management LM Location Management Function LOS Line of Sight MAC Media Access Control MCG Master Cell Group MCS Modulation and Coding Scheme MDAS Management Data Analytics Service MDT Minimization Drive Test MES Manufacturing Execution System MIMO Multiple Input, Multiple Output ML Machine Learning MLB Mobility Load Balancing mMIMO massive MIMO mMTC massive Machine Type Communications MNO Mobile Network Operator MOCN Multi Operator Core Network MORAN Multi Operator RAN MR Measurement Report MRO Mobility Robustness Optimization MU Multi User MV Multi Vendor NF Network Function NG-RAN Next Generation - Radio Access Network NPN Non-Public Network NRM Network Resource Model NRT Neighbor Relation Table NSA Non-Standalone NSI Network Slice Instance NSSAI Network Slice Selection Assistance Information NSSI Network Slice Subnet Instance NSSMF Network Slice Subnet Management Function OAM Operations, Administration and Maintenance O-CU O-RAN Central Unit O-DU O-RAN Distributed Unit O-RU O-RAN Radio Unit OSS Operations Support System PCI Physical Cell ID PDCP Packet Data Control Protocol PDU Protocol Data Unit PHY Physical PLMN Public Mobile Land Network PM Performance Management PRB Physical Resource Block QCI QoS Class Identifier QoE Quality of Experience QoS Quality of Service RAC Random Access Channel RAN Radio Access Network RCEF RRC Connection Establishment Failure RF Radio Frequency RIC O-RAN RAN Intelligent Controller RLC Radio Link Control RLF Radio Link Failure RO RACH Optimization RRC Radio Resource Control RRM Radio Resource Management SA Standalone SCG Secondary Cell Group SDAP Service Data Adaptation Protocol SDO Standards Developing Organization ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 14 SDU Service Data Unit SINR Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio SLA Service Level Agreement SLS Service Level Specification SMO Service Management and Orchestration SOH Shared O-RU Host SON Self-Organizing Network SRB Signalling Radio Bearer SRO Shared Resource Operator SSB Synchronization Signal Block SU Single User TCP Transmission Control Protocol TDD Time Division Duplexing UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle URLLC Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications UTM Unmanned Traffic Management V2X Vehicle to Everything VNF Virtual RAN Function |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4 Use cases | 4.1 Use case 1: Context-Based Dynamic HO Management for V2X |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.1.0 Introduction | This use case provides the background, motivation, and requirements for the Context-based Dynamic HO Management for V2X use case, allowing operators to adjust radio resource allocation policies through the O-RAN architecture, reducing latency and improving radio resource utilization. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.1.1 Background and goal of the use case | V2X communication allows for numerous potential benefits such as increasing the overall road safety, reducing emissions, and saving time. Part of the V2X architecture is the V2X UE (SIM + device attached to vehicle) which communicates with the V2X Application Server (V2X AS). The exchanged information comprises Cooperative Awareness Messages (CAMs), (from UE to V2X AS) [15], radio cell IDs, connection IDs, and basic radio measurements (RSRP, RSPQ, etc.) As vehicles traverse along a highway, due to their high speed and the heterogeneous natural environment V2X UE-s are handed over frequently, at times in a suboptimal way, which can cause handover (HO) anomalies: e.g. short stay, ping-pong, and remote cell. Such suboptimal HO sequences substantially impair the functionality of V2X applications. Since HO sequences are mainly determined by the Neighbour Relation Tables (NRTs), maintained by the xNBs, there is hardly room for UE-level customization. This UC aims to present a method to avoid and/or resolve problematic HO scenarios by using past navigation and radio statistics in order to customize HO sequences on a UE level. To this end, the AI/ML functionality that is enabled by the Near-RT RIC is employed. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.1.2 Entities/resources involved in the use case | 1) Non-RT RIC: a) Retrieve necessary performance, configuration, and other data for constructing/training relevant AI/ML models that will be deployed in Near-RT RIC to assist in the V2X HO management function. For example, this could be a clustering algorithm that classifies traffic situations and radio conditions that (probably) do or do not lead to HO anomalies. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 15 b) Support deployment and update of AI/ML models into Near-RT RIC xApp. c) Support communication of intents and policies (system-level and UE-level) from Non-RT RIC to Near- RT RIC. d) Support communication of non-RAN data to enrich control functions in Near-RT RIC (enrichment data). 2) Near-RT RIC: a) Support update of AI/ML models retrieved from Non-RT RIC. b) Support interpretation and execution of intents and policies from Non-RT RIC. c) Support necessary performance, configuration, and other data for defining and updating intents and policies for tuning relevant AI/ML models. d) Support communication of configuration parameters to RAN. 3) RAN: a) Support data collection with required granularity to SMO over O1 interface. b) Support near-real-time configuration-based optimization of HO parameters over E2 interface. c) Report necessary performance, configuration, and other data for performing real-time V2X HO optimization in the Near-RT RIC over E2 interface. 4) V2X Application Server a) Support data collection with required granularity from V2X UE over V1 interface. b) Support communication of real-time traffic related data about V2X UE to Non-RT RIC as enrichment data. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.1.3 Solutions | |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.1.3.1 Context-based Dynamic Handover Management for V2X | The context of the Context-based Dynamic Handover Management for V2X use case is captured in table 4.1.3.1-1. Table 4.1.3.1-1: Context-based Dynamic Handover Management for V2X Use Case Stage Evolution / Specification <<Uses>> Related use Goal Drive V2X UE HOs in RAN according to defined intents, policies, and configuration while enabling AI/ML-based solutions. Actors and Roles Non-RT RIC: RAN policy control function. Near-RT RIC: RAN policy enforcement function. RAN: policy enforcement for configuration updates. SMO: termination point for O1 interface. V2X AS: termination point for V1 interface and enrichment data provider. Assumptions All relevant functions and components are instantiated. A1, O1, E2 interface connectivity is established. Pre conditions Network is operational. SMO has established the data collection and sharing process, and Non-RT RIC has access to this data. Non-RT RIC analyses the historical data from RAN and V2X AS for training the relevant AI/ML models to be deployed or updated in the Near-RT RIC, as well as AI/ML models required for real-time optimization of configuration and policies. Begins when Operator specified trigger condition or event is detected. Step 1 (M) Non-RT RIC deploys/updates the AI/ML model in the Near-RT RIC via O1 or Non-RT RIC assigns/update the AI/ML model for the Near-RT RIC xApp via A1. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 16 Use Case Stage Evolution / Specification <<Uses>> Related use Step 2 (M) Non-RT RIC communicates relevant policies/intents and enrichment data to the Near-RT RIC over the A1 interface. The enrichment data from the non-RAN data can include V2X UE location, trajectory, navigation information, GPS data, CAMs, DENMs. Step 3 (M) The Near-RT RIC receives the relevant info from the Non-RT RIC over the A1 interface and from the RAN over the E2 interface, interprets the policies and updates the AI/ML models. Step 4 (M) The Near-RT RIC infers optimal RAN configuration (UE-specific NRTs) according to the trained AI/ML models and communicates the result to the RAN over E2 interface. Step 5 (M) RAN deploys the configuration received from the Near-RT RIC over the E2 interface. Step 4 If required, Non-RT RIC can configure specific performance measurement data to be collected from RAN to assess the performance of the V2X HO management function in Near-RT RIC, or to assess the outcome of the applied policies and configuration. Ends when Operator specified trigger condition or event is satisfied. Exceptions None identified. Post Conditions Non-RT RIC monitors the performance of the V2X HO related function in Near- RT RIC by collecting and monitoring the relevant performance KPIs and counters from the RAN and the V2X AS. The flow diagram of the Context-based Dynamic Handover Management for V2X use case is given in figure 4.1.3.1-1. Figure 4.1.3.1-1: Context-based Dynamic Handover Management for V2X flow diagram ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 17 |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.1.4 Required data | The measurement counters and KPIs (as defined by 3GPP) shall be appropriately aggregated by cell, QoS type, slice, etc. 1) Measurement reports with RSRP/RSRQ/CQI information for serving and neighboring cells. 2) UE connection and mobility/handover statistics with indication of successful and failed handovers and error codes etc. 3) V2X related data: position, velocity, direction, navigation data, CAMs, DENMs as specified in ETSI EN 302 637-3 [16]. 4.2 Use case 2: Flight Path Based Dynamic UAV Radio Resource Allocation |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.2.0 Introduction | This use case provides the background, motivation, and requirements for the support the use case of flight path based dynamic UAV Radio Resource Allocation, allowing operators to adjust radio resource allocation policies through the O-RAN architecture, reducing unnecessary handover and improving radio resource utilization. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.2.1 Background and goal of the use case | The field trials' results show that the coverage for low altitude is good and can provide various services for terrestrial UEs with good performance. However, since the site along the flight is mainly for terrestrial UEs, the altitude of the UAV is always not within the main lobe of the ground station antenna. And the side lobes give rise to the phenomenon of scattered cell associations particularly noticeable in the sky. The cell association pattern on the ground is ideally contiguous area where the best cell is most often the one closest to the UE. As the UE move up in height, the antenna side lobes start to be visible, and there is a possibility of the best cell no longer being the closest one. The cell association pattern in this particular scenario becomes fragmented especially at the height of 300 m and above. Hence, at higher altitudes, several challenges that lead to a different radio environment are: a) LOS propagation/uplink interference b) Poor KPI caused by antenna side lobes for base stations c) Sudden drop in signal strength These challenges directly impact on the mobility performance of the drone and the service experience of the user. Hence, we would like to support the use case of flight path based dynamic UAV Radio Resource Allocation to resolve the above issues. Non-Real time RIC can retrieve necessary of Aerial Vehicles related measurement metrics from network based on UE's measurement report and SMO, and flight path information of Aerial vehicle, climate information, flight forbidden/limitation area information and Space Load information etc. from application, e.g. UTM (Unmanned Traffic Management) for constructing/training relevant AI/ML model that will be deployed in RAN. For example, this could be UL/DL interference from/to Aerial vehicles, the detection of Aerial Vehicle UEs, and available radio resource (e.g. frequency, cell, beam, BWP, numerology) prediction. And the Near-Real time RIC can support deployment and execution of AI/ML models from Non-RT RIC. Based on this, the Near-Real time RIC can perform the radio resource allocation for on-demand coverage for UAV considering the radio channel condition, flight path information and other application information. The architectural context of the flight path based dynamic UAV Radio Resource Allocation use case is shown in figure 4.2.1-1. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 18 Figure 4.2.1-1: Use case of flight path based dynamic UAV Radio Resource Allocation Since there is no effective functional module in current eNB/gNB to retrieve the application information, perform machine learning and training based on both the acquired application information and radio environment information, and execute AI/ML models based on above information. And in the O-RAN architecture, the flight path based dynamic UAV Radio Resource Allocation mechanism can be supported by the RIC function module, i.e. non-real time RIC and near-real time RIC. Therefore, we provide the description of O-RAN support use case for flight path based dynamic UAV Radio Resource. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.2.2 Entities/resources involved in the use case | 1) Non-RT RIC: a) Retrieve necessary of O-RAN Support for Aerial Vehicles related measurement metrics from network level measurement report and SMO (can acquire data from application) for constructing/training relevant AI/ML model that will be deployed in Near-RT RIC to assist in the O-RAN Support for Aerial Vehicles function. For example, this could be UL/DL interference from/to Aerial vehicles, the detection of Aerial Vehicle UEs, and available radio resource (e.g. frequency, cell, beam, BWP, numerology) prediction. b) Training of potential ML models for O-RAN Support for Aerial Vehicles, which can respectively autonomously control UL/DL interference from/to Aerial vehicles, detect the UE of Aerial Vehicles, and predict available radio resource (e.g. frequency, cell, beam, BWP, numerology) for Aerial Vehicles. c) Send policies/intents to Near-RT RIC to drive the O-RAN Support for Aerial Vehicles at RAN level in terms of expected behavior. 2) Near-RT RIC: a) Support update of AI/ML models from Non-RT RIC. b) Support execution of the AI/ML models from Non-RT RIC. c) Support interpretation and execution of intents and policies from Non-RT RIC to derive O-RAN Support for Aerial Vehicles at RAN level in terms of expected behavior. d) Support perform the radio resource allocation for on-demand coverage for UAV considering the radio channel condition, flight path information and other application information via the AI/ML models from Non-RT RIC. e) Sending Aerial Vehicles performance report to Non-RT RIC for evaluation and optimization. 3) RAN: a) Support data collection with UE performance report over O1 interface. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 19 b) Support non-real-time optimization of radio resources allocation parameters over O1 interface. 4) Application server: a) Provide application information, e.g. flight path information of Aerial vehicle, climate information, flight forbidden/limitation area information and Space Load information. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.2.3 Solutions | |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.2.3.1 Flight path based dynamic UAV Radio Resource Allocation | The context of the flight path based dynamic UAV Radio Resource Allocation use case is captured in table 4.2.3.1-1. Table 4.2.3.1-1: Flight path based dynamic UAV Radio Resource Allocation Use Case Stage Evolution / Specification <<Uses>> Related use Goal In the O-RAN architecture, the flight path based dynamic UAV Radio Resource Allocation mechanism can be supported, which can perform the radio resource allocation for on-demand coverage for UAV considering the radio channel condition, flight path information and other application information. Actors and Roles Non-RT RIC: RAN policy control function. Near-RT RIC: RAN policy enforcement function. RAN: Implementation of updated configuration parameters. Application Server: generate RAN side UE-level policies. Assumptions All relevant functions and components are instantiated. A1/O1 interface connectivity is established with Non-RT RIC. Pre conditions Near-RT RIC and Non-RT RIC are instantiated with A1 interface connectivity being established between them. A certificate is shared between Near-RT RIC and Non-RT RIC for model related data exchange. E2 interface is established between Near-RT RIC and CU/DU. Begins when Operator specified trigger condition or event is detected. Step 1 (M) Application Server sends the application data to Non-RT RIC. Step 2 (M) Non-RT RIC deploys/updates AI/ML models in the Near-RT RIC via O1 or Non-RT RIC assigns/update the AI/ML model for the Near-RT RIC xApp via A1. Step 3 (M) Non-RT RIC sends relevant policies/intents and enrichment data to the Near-RT RIC over the A1 interface. Step 4 (M) The Near-RT RIC receives the relevant info from the Non-RT RIC over the A1 interface and from the RAN over the E2 interface, interprets the policies and updates the AI/ML models. And the Near-RT RIC converts policy to specific configuration parameter commands. Step 5 (M) RAN executes the command to modify the configuration parameters RAN executes the command to modify the configuration parameters. Ends when Operator specified trigger condition or event is satisfied. Exceptions None identified. Post Conditions Non-RT RIC collects relevant performance data from eNB / gNB, to observe the data transmission performance improvement brought by the wireless resource configuration optimization policy. The flow diagram of the flight path based dynamic UAV Radio Resource Allocation use case is given in figure 4.2.3.1-1. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 20 Figure 4.2.3.1-1: Use case of flight path based dynamic UAV Radio Resource Allocation flow diagram |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.2.4 Required data | Multi-dimensional data are expected to be retrieved for AI/ML model training and policies generation. 1) Network level measurement report, including: a) UE level radio channel information, mobility related metrics. b) UE level location information. 2) Aerial Vehicles related measurement metrics collected from SMO (can acquire data from application or network, e.g. flight path information of Aerial vehicle, climate information, flight forbidden/limitation area information and Space Load information). 4.3 Use case 3: Radio Resource Allocation for UAV Application Scenario |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.3.0 Introduction | This use case provides the background, motivation, and requirements for the UAV control vehicle use case, allowing operators to adjust radio resource allocation policies through the O-RAN architecture, reducing latency and improving radio resource utilization. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.3.1 Background and goal of the use case | As shown in figure 4.3.1-1, this scenario refers to a Rotor UAV flying at low altitude and low speed, and carrying cameras, sensors and other devices mounted. The Operation terminals work in the 5,8 GHz to remote control the UAV for border/forest inspection, high voltage/base station inspection, field mapping, pollution sampling, and HD live broadcast. At the same time, the UAV mobile control stations and the anti-UAV weapons jointly provide the service of fighting against illegal UAVs to ensure low-altitude safety in special areas. The UAV Operation terminals, the anti-UAV weapons, and the UAV mobile control stations are connected with the UAV Control Vehicle using 5G network. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 21 Figure 4.3.1-1: UAV Control Vehicle Application scenario UAV Control Vehicle deploys network equipment, including O-CU, O-DU, the Non-RT RIC function modules and Application Server (In this use case it is an Edge computing Service Platform) to provide reliable network services through 5G networks. The data transmitted over the network includes control data and application data. The control data includes navigation commands, configuration changes, flight status data reporting, etc. Control data requires low latency and low bandwidth requirements. The application data includes 4K high-definition video data, which has obvious uplink and downlink service asymmetry, and the uplink has high requirements on network bandwidth. The UAV Control Vehicle deploys edge computing services on the 5G gNB side to implement local processing of video and control information. At the same time, real-time data services can be provided with the third-party applications by a video server. The Near RT RIC function module provides radio resource management functions of the gNB side. Figure 4.3.1-2: Network architecture for UAV Control Vehicle Application scenario The 5G network supports real-time high-definition video transmission and remote low-latency control of UAV, and finally provides various industry services such as inspection, security, surveying and mapping. In the UAV Control Vehicle Application scenario, there are a small amount of control data interaction requirements between the terminal and the network interaction, as well as the large bandwidth requirements for uploading HD video. The service asymmetry raises new requirements for resource allocation of the gNB. At the same time, the existing network operation and maintenance management platform (OSS system) can only optimize the parameters of a specific group of UEs, but not individual users. In the O-RAN architecture, the radio resource requirements for different terminals are sent to the gNB for execution by means of the RIC function module. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 22 The UAV control vehicle has flexible layout features. In this use case, the application service and content is deployed on the edge computing platform instead of the core network; the RIC function module is used to schedule radio resources instead of the core network's QoS mechanism. In this way, the load and overhead of the core network can be reduced, the forwarding and processing time of data transmission can be reduced. As shown in figure 4.3.1-2, this scenario involves two options of network architecture. Option A is that gNB and Near-RT RIC are deployed on the Control Vehicle, Non-RT RIC and core network are deployed on the central cloud. The Control Vehicle is connected to the core network and Non-RT RIC via fiber optics. Option B is a private network, all the modules, including the gNB, Near-RT RIC, Non-RT RIC and the necessary core network function modules, are deployed in the Control Vehicle. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.3.2 Entities/resources involved in the use case | 1) Non-RT RIC: a) Support sending resource allocation requirements to Near-RT RIC. b) Support receiving UE-level radio resource adjustment requirements from the Application Server. c) Support communication between Non-RT RIC and Near-RT RIC with UE-level policies. 2) Near-RT RIC: a) Support for receiving resource allocation requests from Non-RT RIC. b) Support for the interpretation and execution of the resource allocation policies received from Non-RT RIC. c) Support communication with RAN of configuration parameters. 3) RAN: a) Support resource allocation requests from the Near-RT RIC. b) Support sending terminal registration information to RAN Application Server and Near-RT RIC. c) Support non-real-time optimization of radio resources allocation parameters over O1 interface. d) Support for adjustment of the resource configuration parameters for a specific UE. 4) Application Server: a) Support receiving terminal registration information from E2 nodes via SMO. b) Support collection of user plane data uploaded from RAN. c) Support sending UE-level radio resource adjustment requirements to Non-RT RIC. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.3.3 Solutions | |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.3.3.1 UAV Control Vehicle | The context of the UAV control vehicle use case is captured in table 4.3.3.1-1. Table 4.3.3.1-1: UAV control vehicle Use Case Stage Evolution / Specification <<Uses>> Related use Goal In the UAV control vehicle scenario, the UE-level radio resource configuration optimization is achieved through the delivery of policies and configuration parameters. Actors and Roles Non-RT RIC: RAN policy control function. Near-RT RIC: RAN policy enforcement function. RAN: Implementation of updated configuration parameters. Application Server: generate UE-level resource allocation requirements. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 23 Use Case Stage Evolution / Specification <<Uses>> Related use Assumptions All relevant functions and components are instantiated. A1/O1 interface connectivity is established with Non-RT RIC. Pre conditions The Non-RT RIC sends an instruction through the interface, informing the RAN to allocate the default resource, and establish the cell. The RAN notifies the Near-RT RIC and Application Server of the accessed terminal (UE) information. Begins when Operator specified trigger condition or event is detected. Step 1 (M) Application Server sends requirements of radio resource allocation adjustment to Non-RT RIC. This request can be sent at any time, or it can be sent at regular intervals. Step 2 (M) Non-RT RIC converts the requirements to resource adjustment policy, and distributes the policy to the Near-RT RIC. Step 3 (M) Near-RT RIC converts policy to specific configuration parameter commands. Step 4 (M) RAN executes the command to modify the configuration parameters. Step 5 (M) The specified UE adjusts the uplink rate. Ends when Operator specified trigger condition or event is satisfied. Exceptions None identified. Post Conditions The RAN operates using the newly deployed parameters/models. The flow diagram of the UAV control vehicle use case is given in figure 4.3.3.1-1. Figure 4.3.3.1-1: UAV control vehicle |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.3.4 Required data | Multi-dimensional data are expected to be retrieved for policy generation and performance improvements brought by the policy: 1) The number of terminals accessed, the identification information such as an UE ID that distinguishes each UAV connected with UAV the control vehicle), and the resource information assigned by default. 2) UE-level radio resource allocation information, such as the number of PRB resources used in PDSCH/PUSCH scheduling. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.4 Use case 4: QoE Optimization | |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.4.0 Introduction | This use case provides the background and motivation for the O-RAN architecture to support real-time QoE optimization. Moreover, some high-level description and requirements over Non-RT RIC, A1 and E2 interfaces are introduced. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 24 |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.4.1 Background and goal of the use case | The highly demanding 5G native applications like Cloud VR are both bandwidth consuming and latency sensitive. However, for such traffic-intensive and highly interactive applications, current semi-static QoS framework cannot efficiently satisfy diversified QoE requirements especially taking into account potentially significant fluctuation of radio transmission capability. It is expected that QoE estimation/prediction from application level can help deal with such uncertainty and improve the efficiency of radio resources, and eventually improve user experience. RAN analytics information as RAN service can be exposed to an external application or MEC. It is envisioned to be helpful for the application to improve the user experience. The main objective is to ensure QoE optimization be supported within the O-RAN architecture and its open interfaces. Multi-dimensional data, e.g. user traffic data, QoE measurements, network measurement report, can be acquired and processed via ML algorithms to support traffic recognition, QoE prediction, QoS enforcement decisions. ML models can be trained offline and model inference will be executed in a real-time manner. Focus should be on a general solution that would support any specific QoE use case (e.g. Cloud VR, video, etc.). |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.4.2 Entities/resources involved in the use case | 1) Non-RT RIC: a) Retrieve necessary QoE related measurement metrics from network level measurement report and SMO (can acquire data from application) for constructing/training relevant AI/ML model that will be deployed in Near-RT RIC to assist in the QoE Optimization function. For example, this could be application classification, QoE prediction, and available bandwidth prediction. b) Training of potential ML models for predictive QoE optimization, which can respectively autonomously recognize traffic types, predict quality of experience, or predict available radio bandwidth. c) Send policies/intents to Near-RT RIC to drive the QoE optimization at RAN level in terms of expected behavior. 2) Near-RT RIC: a) Support update of AI/ML models from Non-RT RIC. b) Support execution of the AI/ML models from Non-RT RIC, e.g. application classification, QoE prediction, and available bandwidth prediction. c) Support interpretation and execution of intents and policies from Non-RT RIC to derive the QoE optimization at RAN level in terms of expected behavior. d) Sending QoE performance report to Non-RT RIC for evaluation and optimization. 3) RAN: a) Support network state and UE performance report with required granularity to SMO over O1 interface. b) Support QoS enforcement based on messages from A1/E2, which are expected to influence RRM behavior. 4) Application Server/MEC: a) Request/subscribe RAN analytics information from Near-RT RIC. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.4.3 Solutions | |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.4.3.1 AI/ML Model training and distribution | The context of the model training and distribution is captured in table 4.4.3.1-1. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 25 Table 4.4.3.1-1: Model training and distribution Use Case Stage Evolution / Specification <<Uses>> Related use Goal Model training and Distribution. Actors and Roles Non-RT RIC, Near-RT RIC, SMO, application server. Assumptions All relevant functions and components are instantiated. A1/O1 interface connectivity is established with Non-RT RIC. Pre conditions Near-RT RIC and Non-RT RIC are instantiated with A1 interface connectivity being established between them. A certificate is shared between Near-RT RIC and Non-RT RIC for model related data exchange. Editor's Note: security related procedure is not defined in the present document. Begins when Operator specified trigger condition or event is detected. Step 1 (M) QoE related measurement metrics from SMO (can acquire data from application) and network level measurement report either for instantiating training of a new ML model or modifying existing ML model. Step 2 (M) Non-RT RIC does the model training, obtains QoE related models, and can deploy QoE policy model internally. An example of QoE-related models that can be used at the Near-RT RIC is provided as follows: a) Application Classification Model (optional and can refer to 3rd party's existing functionality). b) QoE Prediction Model. c) QoE policy Model. d) Available BW Prediction Model. Step 3 (M) Non-RT RIC deploys/updates the AI/ML model in the Near-RT RIC via O1 or Non-RT RIC assigns/update the AI/ML model for the Near-RT RIC xApp via A1. Step 4 (M) Near-RT RIC stores the received QoE related ML models in the ML Model inference platform and based on requirements of ML models. Step 5 (O) If required, Non-RT RIC can configure specific performance measurement data to be collected from RAN to assess the performance of AI/ML models and update the AI/ML model in Near-RT RIC based on the performance evaluation and model retraining. Ends when Operator specified trigger condition or event is satisfied. Exceptions None identified. Post Conditions Near-RT RIC stores the received QoE related ML models in the ML Model inference platform and execute the model for QoE optimization function in Near-RT RIC. The flow diagram of the model training and distribution is given in figure 4.4.3.1-1. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 26 Figure 4.4.3.1-1: Model training and distribution flow diagram |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.4.3.2 Policy generation and performance evaluation | The context of the policy generation and performance evaluation is captured in table 4.4.3.2-1. Table 4.4.3.2-1: Policy generation and performance evaluation Use Case Stage Evolution / Specification <<Uses>> Related use Goal Policy generation and performance evaluation. Actors and Roles Non-RT RIC, Near-RT RIC, SMO. Assumptions All relevant functions and components are instantiated. A1/O1 interface connectivity is established with Non-RT RIC. Pre conditions QoE related models have been deployed in Non-RT RIC and Near-RT RIC respectively. Begins when The network operator/manager want to generate QoE policy or optimize QoE related AI/ML models. Step 1 (M) Non-RT RIC evaluates the collected data and generates the appropriate QoE optimization policy. Step 2 (M) Non-RT RIC sends the QoE optimization policy to Near-RT RIC via A1 interface. Step 3 (M) Near-RT RIC receives the policy from the Non-RT RIC over the A1 interface and from the RAN over the E2 interface. And the Near-RT RIC inferences the QoE related AI/ML models and converts policy to specific E2 control or policy commands. Step 4 (M) Near-RT RIC sends the E2 control or policy commands towards RAN for QoE optimization. Step 5 (M) RAN enforces the received control or policy from the Near-RT RIC over the E2 interface. Step 6 (O) If required, Non-RT RIC can configure specific performance measurement data to be collected from RAN to assess the performance of the QoE optimization function in Near-RT RIC, or to assess the outcome of the applied A1 policies. And then update A1 policy and E2 control or policy. Ends when Operator specified trigger condition or event is satisfied. Exceptions None identified. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 27 Use Case Stage Evolution / Specification <<Uses>> Related use Post Conditions Non-RT RIC monitors the performance of the QoE optimization related function in Near-RT RIC by collecting and monitoring the relevant performance KPIs and counters from RAN. The flow diagram of the policy generation and performance evaluation is given in figure 4.4.3.2-1. Figure 4.4.3.2-1: Policy generation and performance evaluation flow diagram |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.4.3.3 RAN Performance Analytics | The context of the RAN Performance Analytics is captured in table 4.4.3.3-1. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 28 Table 4.4.3.3-1: RAN Performance Analytics Use Case Stage Evolution / Specification <<Uses>> Related use Goal Expose RAN analytics information to external applications or MEC. Actors and Roles Non-RT RIC, Near-RT RIC, SMO, application server/MEC. Assumptions All relevant functions and components are instantiated. A1/O1 interface connectivity is established with Non-RT RIC. Pre conditions QoE related models have been deployed in Non-RT RIC and Near-RT RIC respectively. Editor's Note: Security related procedure is not defined in the present document. Begins when The application server or MEC wants to request/subscribe RAN analytics information. Step 1 (M) Application server or MEC sends RAN analytics information request to Near-RT RIC or subscribes RAN analytics information from Near-RT RIC to get periodic or event triggered RAN performance. Step 2 (M) Near-RT RIC receives the request or subscription from application server or MEC. Upon the request, the Near-RT RIC subscribes and receives the measurement data from O-CU/O-DU. Based on it, with QoE related AI/ML models, the Near-RT RIC infers the RAN analytics information, and exposes it to application server or MEC via the response or notification command. Such information, e.g. performance analytics could be used for QoE optimization. Ends when Application server gets response or sends subscription deletion toward the Near-RT RIC. Exceptions None identified. Post Conditions Application server executes logic control, e.g. TCP transmission window adjustment, video coding rate selection to improve QoE. The flow diagram of the RAN Performance Analytics is given in figure 4.4.3.3-1. Figure 4.4.3.3-1: RAN Performance Analytics flow diagram |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.4.4 Required data | Multi-dimensional data are expected to be retrieved by Non-RT RIC for AI/ML model training and policies/intents generation. Network level measurement data from O-CU/O-DU are also expected to report to Near-RT RIC for RAN analytics information inference. 1) Network level measurement report, including: a) UE level radio channel information, mobility related metrics, e.g. CQI, SINR, MCS. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 29 b) L2 measurement report related to traffic pattern, e.g. throughput, latency, packets per-second, inter frame arrival time. c) RAN protocol stack status: e.g. PDCP buffer status. d) Cell level information: e.g. DL/UL PRB occupation rate. 2) QoE related measurement metrics collected from SMO (can acquire data from application or network). 3) User traffic data, which can be obtained via a proprietary interface from existing data collection equipment and is currently out of the scope of A1 or E2. RAN Analytics Information: RAN analytics information exposed by Near-RT RIC to application server includes but is not limited to: 1) UE level information, e.g.: a) Predicted RAN performance, e.g. maximum/average traffic rate, maximum/average latency, average packet loss rate. b) Prediction related information, e.g. confidence, validity period. 2) Cell level information. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.5 Use case 5: Traffic Steering | |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.5.0 Introduction | This use case provides the motivation, description, and requirements for traffic steering use case, allowing operators to specify different objectives for traffic management such as optimizing the network/UE performance, or achieving balanced cell load. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.5.1 Background and goal of the use case | 5G systems will support many different combinations of access technologies namely; LTE (licensed band), NR (licensed band), NR-U (unlicensed band), Wi-Fi® (unlicensed band) [i.3]. Several different multi-access deployment scenarios are possible with 5GC to support wide variety of applications and satisfy the spectrum requirements of different service providers: • Carrier aggregation between licensed band NR (Primary Cell) and NR-U (Secondary Cell) • Dual connectivity between licensed band NR (Primary Cell) and NR-U (Secondary Cell) • Dual connectivity between licensed band LTE (Primary Cell) and NR-U (Secondary Cell) • Dual connectivity between licensed band NR (Primary Cell) and Wi-Fi (Secondary Cell) NOTE: The scenario of dual connectivity between NR and Wi-Fi is for future study. The rapid traffic growth and multiple frequency bands utilized in a commercial network make it challenging to steer the traffic in a balanced distribution. Further in a multi-access system there is need to switch the traffic across access technologies based on changes in radio environment and application requirements and even split the traffic across multiple access technologies to satisfy performance requirements. The different types of traffic and frequency bands in a commercial network make it challenging to handle the complex QoS aspects, bearer selection (Master Cell Group (MCG) bearer, Secondary Cell Group (SCG) bearer, Split bearer), bearer type change for load balancing, achieving low latency and best in class throughput in a multi-access scenario with 5GC networks as specified in 3GPP TS 37.340 [12]. Typical controls are limited to adjusting the cell reselection and handover parameters; modifying load calculations and cell priorities; and are largely static in nature when selecting the type of bearers and QoS attributes. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 30 Further, the Radio Resource Management (RRM) features in the existing cellular network are all cell-centric. Even in different areas of within a cell, there are variations in radio environment, such as neighboring cell coverage, signal strength, interference status, etc. However, base stations based on traditional control strategies treat all UEs in a similar way and are usually focused on average cell-centric performance, rather than UE-centric. Such current solutions suffer from following limitations: • It is hard to adapt the RRM control to diversified scenarios including multi-access deployments and optimization objectives. • The traffic management strategy is usually passive, rarely taking advantage of capabilities to predict network and UE performance. The strategy needs to consider aspects of steering, switching and splitting traffic across different access technologies in a multi-access scenario. • Non-optimal traffic management, with slow response time, due to various factors such as inability to select the right set of UEs for control action. This further results in non-optimal system and UE performance, such as suboptimal spectrum utilization, reduced throughput and increased handover failures. Based on the above reasons, the main objective of this use case is to allow operators to flexibly configure the desired optimization policies, utilize the right performance criteria, and leverage machine learning to enable intelligent and proactive traffic management. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.5.2 Entities/resources involved in the use case | 1) Non-RT RIC: a) Retrieve necessary performance, configuration, and other data for defining and updating policies to guide the behavior of traffic management function in Near-RT RIC. For example, the policy could relate to specifying different optimization objectives to guide the carrier/band preferences at per-UE or group of UE granularity. b) Support communication of policies to Near-RT RIC. c) Support communication of measurement configuration parameters to RAN. 2) Near-RT RIC: a) Support interpretation and enforcement of policies from Non-RT RIC. 3) E2 nodes: a) Support data collection with required granularity to SMO over O1 interface. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.5.3 Solutions | |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.5.3.1 Policy Based Traffic steering | The context of the traffic steering use case is captured in table 4.5.3.1-1. Table 4.5.3.1-1: Traffic steering Use Case Stage Evolution / Specification <<Uses>> Related use Goal Drive traffic management in RAN in accordance with defined intents, policies, and configuration. Actors and Roles Non-RT RIC: RAN policy control function. Near-RT RIC: RAN policy enforcement function. E2 nodes: Control plane and user plane functions. SMO/Collection & Control: termination point for O1 interface. Assumptions All relevant functions and components are instantiated. A1 interface connectivity is established with Non-RT RIC. O1 interface connectivity is established with SMO/ Collection & Control. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 31 Use Case Stage Evolution / Specification <<Uses>> Related use Pre conditions Network is operational. SMO/ Collection & Control has established the data collection and sharing process, and Non-RT RIC has access to this data. Non-RT RIC monitors the performance by collecting the relevant performance events and counters from E2 nodes via SMO/ Collection & Control. Begins when Operator specified trigger condition or event is detected. Step 1 (O) If required, Non-RT RIC configures additional, more specific, performance measurement data to be collected from E2 nodes to assess the performance. Step 2(M) Non-RT RIC decides an action and communicates relevant policies to Near-RT RIC over A1. The example policies can include: a) QoS targets; b) Preferences on which cells to allocate control plane and user plane; c) Bearer handling aspects including bearer selection, bearer type change. Step 3 (M) The Near-RT RIC receives the relevant info from Non-RT RIC over A1 interface, interprets the policies and enforces them. Step 4 (M) Non-RT RIC decides that conditions to continue the policy is no longer valid. Ends when Non-RT RIC deletes the policy. Exceptions None identified. Post Conditions Non-RT RIC monitors the performance by collecting the relevant performance events and counters from E2 nodes via SMO. The flow diagram of the traffic steering use case is given in figure 4.5.3.1-1. Figure 4.5.3.1-1: Traffic steering use case flow diagram ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 32 |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.5.3.2 Enrichment Information Based Traffic Steering | In this variation, when the Near-RT detects cell congestion, it requests via A1-EI to Non-RT RIC analytics that can be used as additional information to assist in its efforts at alleviating that congestion. The context of the enrichment information based traffic steering use case is captured in table 4.5.3.2-1. Table 4.5.3.2-1: Enrichment information based traffic steering Use Case Stage Evolution / Specification <<Uses>> Related use Goal Drive traffic management in RAN in accordance with defined enrichment information and associated decision control. Actors and Roles • Non-RT RIC: RAN analytics and enrichment information framework. • "UE Location" rApp: Capable of calculating the geo-location of UEs with a prediction on the granularity of seconds time scale (e.g. based on timing advance and RRC measurements), aggregating and trending those over time to learn mobility patterns, and using these to predict a UE's future location based on its recent location history. • "Traffic Steering" rApp: Determines set of UEs connected to requested cell and requests UE Location rApp analytics, forwarding the same to the Near- RT RIC. • Near-RT RIC: Detects breaches in expected performance and requests enrichment information from Non-RT RIC to aid in mitigation efforts. Also performs RAN decision control based on network telemetry and the enrichment information provided by Non-RT RIC. • E2 nodes: Control plane and user plane RAN functions. • SMO/Collection & Control: termination point for O1 interface. Assumptions • All relevant functions and components are instantiated. • A1 interface connectivity is established between Near and Non-RT RIC. • O1 interface connectivity is established between RAN E2 nodes and SMO/ Collection & Control. • Near-RT RIC is capable of detecting a breach in cell performance and determine the usefulness of predictive data. Pre conditions • Network is operational. • Network data collection pipelines have been engineered for necessary data volumes and Non-RT RIC has access to this data. • Both rApps have registered via R1 the data types that they produce and the data types they consume. • UE Location rApp has been trained to recognize the UE mobility patterns in the local area such that, given a UE identifier, it can quickly determine whether that UE is or is not following a known mobility pattern. • Traffic Steering rApp has subscribed to, and Non-RT RIC/SMO is collecting on its behalf, the relevant performance events and counters from E2 nodes via SMO/ Collection & Control. Begins when Near-RT RIC detects a cell performance breach (e.g. due to UE capacity considerations) and determines it might be useful to have additional information from the Non-RT RIC regarding UE candidates for handover. Step 1 (M) Near-RT RIC requests of the Non-RT RIC the Enrichment Information corresponding to the UE_Traj_Pred R1 data type for the congested cell. Step 2 (M) Non-RT RIC leverages R1 to subscribe to UE_Traj_Pred data type from the Traffic Steering rApp. Step 3 (M) Traffic Steering rApp subscribes to relevant network data for the cell in question. Steps 4-8 (M) Non-RT RIC/SMO interact with the O-RAN network to collect the requested network data and deliver to the Traffic Steering rApp. Step 9 (M) Traffic Steering rApp determines from network data which UEs are connected to the cells in question. Step 10 (M) Traffic Steering rApp leverages R1 to subscribe to UE Location Prediction data type (UeLocPred) for those UEs connected to the cells in question and that also meet other criteria known to the Traffic Steering rApp. Step 11 (M) Non-RT RIC leverages R1 to have UE Location rApp produce the requested data type instances for the specified UEs. Step 12 (M) UE Location rApp subscribes to relevant network data for the UEs in question. Steps 13-17 (M) Non-RT RIC/SMO interact with the O-RAN network to collect the requested network data and deliver to the UE Location rApp. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 33 Use Case Stage Evolution / Specification <<Uses>> Related use Step 18 (M) UE Location rApp determines from network data, trended over time, the UE location prediction over a particular future time window (e.g. 10-30 seconds) for the UE along with a confidence value for that prediction. Steps 19-20 (M) UE Location rApp leverages R1 to return the UeLocPred instances to the Non-RT RIC, which in turn delivers to the Traffic Steering rApp. Step 21 (M) Traffic Steering rApp determines from UE Location Prediction analytics the predicted locations of the specified UEs within the next 10-30 seconds, maps those locations into a historical RF measurements map overlaying cell boundaries to physical geography, and determines the subset of UEs predicted to be leaving the oversubscribed cell within the next 10-30 seconds anyway, and hence which would perhaps be candidates for expedited handover. Step 22 (M) Traffic Steering rApp leverages R1 to generate UE trajectory prediction (UE_Traj_Pred) data based on its analysis. Step 23 (M) Non-RT RIC leverages A1-EI to forward the UE trajectory prediction data to the Near-RT RIC as the corresponding A1 Enrichment Information type. Step 24 (M) The Near-RT RIC interprets the information content received across the A1-EI interface and determines whether and how to use that EI in its congestion mitigation activities. (As a further optimization, it can be useful for the Near-RT RIC to also understand what type of activity the UE is engaged in.) Step 25 (M) Near-RT RIC continues monitoring cell performance and decides that congestion has been resolved. Step 26 (M) Near-RT RIC requests the Non-RT RIC to discontinue UE_Traj_Pred data production for the target cell. Step 27 (M) Non-RT RIC leverages R1 to unsubscribe to UE_Traj_Pred data type from the Traffic Steering rApp. Step 28 (M) Traffic Steering rApp leverages R1 to unsubscribe to the UE Location Prediction data type for the corresponding UEs. Step 29 (M) Non-RT RIC leverages R1 to unsubscribe to UELocPred data type from the UE Location rApp. Steps 30-32 (M) UELocPred rApp unsubscribes to the relevant network data. Ends when UE Location Prediction rApp ceases to produce the UE Location Prediction data for the corresponding UEs and to collect the associated network data. Exceptions None identified. Post Conditions Near-RT RIC continues to monitor RAN performance. The flow diagram of the enrichment information based traffic steering use case is given in figure 4.5.3.2-1. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 34 Figure 4.5.3.2-1: Enrichment information based traffic steering use case flow diagram |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.5.4 Required data | The measurement counters and KPIs (as defined by 3GPP and will be extended for O-RAN use cases) shall be appropriately aggregated by cell, QoS type, slice, etc. 1) Measurement reports with RSRP/RSRQ/CQI information for serving and neighboring cells. In multi-access scenarios this will also include intra-RAT and inter-RAT measurement reports, cell quality thresholds, CGI reports and measurement gaps on per-UE or per-frequency. 2) UE connection and mobility/handover statistics with indication of successful and failed handovers, etc. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 35 3) Cell load statistics such as information in the form of number of active users or connections, number of scheduled active users per TTI, PRB utilization, and CCE utilization. 4) Per user performance statistics such as PDCP throughput, RLC or MAC layer latency, etc. 5) UE level measurements useful in calculating UE location, such as RRC and timing advance measurements. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.6 Use case 6: Massive MIMO Beamforming Optimization | |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.6.0 Introduction | This use case provides the motivation, description, and requirements for Non-RT and Near-RT loop Massive MIMO beamforming optimization use case. Massive MIMO system configuration can allow operators to optimize the network performance and QoS by e.g. Non-RT and Near-RT loop balancing cell loads or reducing inter-cell interference and control Electromagnetic (EM) emissions. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.6.1 Background and goal of the use case | Massive MIMO (mMIMO) is among the key levers to increase performance and QoS in 5G networks. Capacity enhancement is obtained by means of beamforming of the transmitted signals, and by spatially multiplexing data streams for both Single User (SU) and for Multi User (MU) MIMO. Beamforming increases the received signal power, while decreasing the interference generated on other users, hence resulting in higher SINR and user throughputs. Beamforming can be codebook based (mainly for FDD), or non-codebook based (TDD). Grid of Beams (GoB) with the corresponding beam sweeping as specified in [i.2] and in 3GPP TS 38.213 [14] has been introduced to allow beamforming the control channels used during initial access, mainly for high frequency (but can be used also for the sub-6 GHz band) MIMO operation. The codebook and the GoB define the span of the beams, namely the horizontal and vertical aperture in which beamforming is supported, and therefore the coverage area and the shape of the cell. Massive MIMO can be deployed in 5G macro-cells as well as in heterogeneous network, where macro-cells and 3D-MIMO small cells co-exist and complement each other for better aggregated capacity and coverage. In order to obtain an optimal beamforming and cell resources (Tx power, PRB) configuration, one will have to look at a multi-cell environment instead of a single cell. Moreover, different vendors can have different implementations in terms of the number of beams, the horizontal/vertical beam widths, azimuth and elevation range, to achieve the desired coverage. In a multi node/multi-vendor scenario, centralized monitoring and control is required to offer optimal coverage, capacity and mobility performance as well as control over EM emissions in order to comply with regulatory requirements. Additionally, the number of such combinations of adjustable parameters is in the thousands, hence it is prohibitive for the traditional human expert system to work out the optimal configuration, and a new method is in need. State of the art solutions suffer from the following problems: mMIMO macro- and small-cells benefit from a flexible way of serving users in their coverage area thanks to beamforming. However the coverage area itself is defined by (vendor specific) fixed mMIMO system parameters such as the azimuth and elevation angle range, or the GoB parameters. Hence due to user and traffic distribution and terrain topology, the mMIMO cell can suffer from e.g. 1) High inter-cell interference 2) Unbalanced traffic between neighboring cells 3) Low performance of cell edge users 4) Poor handover performance Moreover, load balancing functions can be activated in the network nodes, e.g. gNB adapting mobility parameters in order to distribute load between the beams of the neighbor cells, relying on load information exchange over network interfaces. This approach however is partly limited by the cell footprint statically fixed at the initial configuration. The objective of this use case is to allow the operator to flexibly configure a mMIMO system parameters by means of policies and configuration assisted by machine learning techniques, according to objectives defined by the operator. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 36 |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.6.2 Entities/resources involved in the use case | |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.6.2.1 Non-RT Massive MIMO GoB Beam Forming Optimization | 1) Non-RT RIC: a) Retrieve necessary configurations, performance indicators, measurement reports, user activity information and other data from SMO and RAN directly for the purpose of constructing/training relevant AI/ML models that will be deployed in Non-RT RIC to assist in the massive MIMO optimization function. b) Retrieve necessary user location related information, e.g. GPS coordinates, from the application layer for the purpose of constructing/training relevant AI/ML models. c) Use the trained AI/ML model to infer the user distribution and traffic distribution of multiple cells and predict the optimal configuration of Massive MIMO parameters for each cell/beam according to a global optimization objective designed by the operator. The Massive MIMO configurable parameters includes horizontal beam width, vertical beam width, beam azimuth and downtilt, maximum and average transmitted power per beam/direction as specified in 3GPP TS 28.541 [5]. d) Send the optimal beam pattern configuration to SMO configuration components. e) Retrain the AI/ML model and Re-optimize the beam pattern configurations based on the monitored performance. f) Execute the control loop periodically or event-triggered. 2) SMO: a) Collect the necessary configurations, performance indicators, and measurement reports data from RAN nodes triggered by Non-RT RIC if required. b) Configure the optimized beam parameters via O1 interface. c) Monitor the performance of all the cells; when the optimization objective fails, initiate fall back procedure; meanwhile, trigger the AI/ML model re-training, data analytics and optimization in Non-RT RIC. 3) E2 nodes: a) Collect and report to SMO and/or to Near-RT RIC KPI related to user activity, traffic load, coverage and QoS performance, per beam/area, handover and beam failures statistics. b) Collect and report to SMO and/or to Near-RT RIC information about beam and resource utilization. c) Apply beam management strategies following SMO and Near-RT RIC configuration and constraints. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.6.2.2 Near-RT Beam-based Mobility Robustness Optimization | 1) SMO: a) Trigger bMRO configuration. (O) b) Send bMRO configuration target to Near-RT RIC. c) Send GoB Beam Pattern related information (Beam Pattern configuration, Beam Pattern configuration list, Beam Pattern configuration switch timing/condition, Beam Pattern identifier etc.) to the Near-RT RIC. 2) Near-RT RIC: a) Retrieve necessary configurations, performance indicators, measurement reports and other data from E2 nodes for the purpose of training of relevant AI/ML models. ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 37 b) Use the trained AI/ML models to infer the correlation between the Grid-of-Beam configuration, handover, and beam failure statistics of multiple cells and beams, and to predict the optimal configuration of mobility parameters (e.g. beam individual offsets for beam mobility) for each cell/beam pair optionally according to a global optimization objective designed by the operator and retrieved from the SMO. c) Send the optimal beam mobility parameter configurations to E2 nodes as specified in 3GPP TS 28.541 [5]. d) Monitor the performance of the AI/ML model based on configurations, performance indicators, and measurement reports received from the RAN. e) Retrain the AI/ML model and re-optimize the beam mobility configurations based on the monitored performance and/or based on a switch of the Grid-of-Beam configuration. f) Execute the control loop periodically or event triggered. g) Retrieve GoB Beam Pattern related information from the SMO. 3) E2 nodes: a) Collect and report to Near-RT RIC KPIs related to Grid-of-Beam configuration, handover and beam failure statistics. b) Apply L3 beam mobility parameter configuration following Near-RT RIC configuration as specified in 3GPP TS 28.541 [5]. c) Send GoB Beam Pattern related information to the Near-RT RIC. |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.6.3 Solutions | |
90bcf7b13befe222ebcc419f28dd32b6 | 104 036 | 4.6.3.1 Non-RT Massive MIMO GoB Beam Forming optimization | The context of the massive MIMO beamforming optimization is captured in table 4.6.3.1-1. Table 4.6.3.1-1: Massive MIMO GoB Beam Forming optimization Use Case Stage Evolution / Specification <<Uses>> Related use Goal Enable flexible optimization of the multi-cell M-MIMO beamforming performance (capacity and coverage) by means of configuration parameter change with operator-defined objectives, and allow for AI/ML-based solutions. Actors and Roles Non-RT RIC acting as Massive MIMO beamforming configuration optimization decision making function. SMO acting as the RAN data collection and parameter configuration function. RAN acting as configuration enforcement function. Assumptions O1 interface connectivity is established between RAN and SMO. Network is operational. Pre conditions SMO has processed the collected data and Non-RT RIC has access to this data. Begins when Operator specified trigger condition or event is detected. Step 1 (O) If required, SMO can initiate the specific measurement data collection request towards RAN for AI/ML model training or to assess the outcome of the applied configuration. Step 2 (M) Non-RT RIC retrieve the data from SMO components and trains the AI/ML model with the collected data from the application, the RAN nodes. Trained AI/ML models are deployed and inferenced for long-term configuration parameters optimization. Step 3 (M) Upon trigger from Non-RT RIC with the optimized beam parameters, SMO configures the parameters towards the RAN via O1 interface. The relevant parameters can include: a) horizontal beam width, vertical beam width, beam azimuth and downtilt; ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 38 Use Case Stage Evolution / Specification <<Uses>> Related use b) maximum and average transmitted power per beam/direction. Step 4 (M) SMO monitors the network performance. If the algorithm performance is unsatisfactory in terms of predefined objective/requirement, SMO initiates fallback mechanism to restore previous configuration, It can also gather necessary information and data to retrain and update the AI/ML model or trigger the optimization in Non-RT RIC. Ends when Operator specified trigger condition or event is satisfied. Exceptions None identified. Post Conditions The RAN operates using the newly deployed parameters/models. The flow diagram of the massive MIMO beamforming optimization is given in figure 4.6.3.1-1. Figure 4.6.3.1-1: Massive MIMO beamforming optimization flow diagram ETSI ETSI TS 104 036 V12.0.0 (2025-04) 39 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.